Deals By Design
by darkmystress00
Summary: Beth Greene is trying to adopt Judith Grimes, but the social worker wont allow the baby to go to a home that doesn't appear steady and balanced. When her friend Rosita hands her a number of a friend hard up for cash Beth knows it's all sorts of bad but she really has no choice. Could this deal prove to be too much or just what she needs to really and truly find herself?
1. Chapter 1

Beth glanced down at the number typed into her phone. This was such a bad idea. Such a bad idea. This was beyond a bad idea. There wasn't even a glimmer of good in the concept of this idea. She pushed the call button and waited for someone to pick up. She secretly prayed no one would. She wasn't so lucky.

"'Lo?" The voice was rough, grumbly and deep.

"M-Mr. Dixon?" Her voice squeaked into the phone. She cleared her throat. "Are you Mr. Dixon?" She received a quick 'mm' into the other end of the receiver. "My name is Beth Greene. I had a business proposal for you…" She paused and waited for him to respond, checking her phone to make sure the call was still connected. "Hello?"

"I'm listening." She took a calming breath. This was a bad idea…and he wasn't going to make it any easier on her.

"Can we meet somewhere? I'd rather not discuss such a…personal matter over the phone." She paused. "Please?"

"Fine. Can you make the diner on the corner of Main and Second in an hour?" She smiled into the phone.

"Sure." She was about to say more, but he cut her.

"Alright. See you there." With that he hung up. Beth looked at her phone and grit her teeth.

"Rosita, this had better be worth it." She grumbled and hopped into her car. It would only take her about twenty minutes to get to the diner, but she figured she could at least sit down and think about what she was going to say to the man when she met him.

Daryl looked at his phone as the screen darkened. This was interesting. He looked off in the direction of the bathroom as he heard Merle inside throwing his guts up. Served him right for getting shitfaced and barging into Daryl's apartment at three in the morning. Daryl walked to the kitchen sink, washing his face off and cleaned himself up. He dried off, pulling on a clean t-shirt and snagging his keys from the counter before making his way to his front door. Without so much as a holler to Merle, Daryl left his apartment and made his way to his car to drive across town to the diner. With the construction around his POS apartment it would probably take him closer to forty five minutes to get there. Better leave now than be late. If there was one thing Daryl wasn't…he wasn't ever late.

Beth satin the booth, watching Daryl drink his coffee, black and strong, trying to string two words together to start her sentence. She just couldn't do it.

"So, how'd you get my number?" He said as he set down his mug. That she could answer. Yeah. Work into small sentences and then do the big ones after she'd calmed down. This was still all sorts of shades of bad.

"Rosita gave it to me. She said you'd be able to help me out."

"Help you out with what exactly?" This was where she took a deep breath, and fidgeted with the straw in her glass.

"Uhm…well…I need…the thing is. I just. It would only be for a week at most. I, uhm," He quirked an eyebrow and looked at her waiting for her to spit it out.

"What are you getting at girl?"

"I need someone to pretend to be my boyfriend so I can adopt a baby." She blurted out. She shrunk in on herself. That could have gone better. He just stared at her.

"Y'want me to do what?" He seemed angry. She bit her lip and looked around.

"Pretend to be my boyfriend so I can adopt a baby…" Daryl was floored. This was not what he had expected when he'd walked into the diner and found the sunny blond girl sitting there waiting for him. He'd known she was there for him because she was the only one in this dingy diner and she was staring off into space like the world was ending. He looked her over. She was a pretty girl, decent enough to get her own real boyfriend for the occasion. It begged the question why she was bothering with this whole thing.

"You could get the real deal y'know." He said and looked at her, "Why're you botherin' with all this anyway?" She looked down her cheeks tinting red.

"It sounds stupid, but I had a bad break up a while back, and I don't really have the time to go out and find a real Mr. Right." She could almost hear him roll his eyes at her. "I just need someone there while the social worker is around. It's just a week, a week and a half tops." Man she sounded so superficial. He lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"Sorry girl, I can't help you." He moved to get up. "I ain't no damn gigalo."

"Please. No sex, just hang around and pretend to be with me. Just until they give me the kid. I don't want to lose her. I'll pay you. You name your price and I'll pay it. I'll give you anything." He could tell she was desperate. He eyed her. He'd been saving to get the hell out of dodge. Away from Merle, away from his dead end job, away from the memories and bad taste this city had given him. With this, he might be able to do that. He looked her up and down. It really would be the easiest pay day he'd ever had. He rolled the idea around in his head for a few seconds and narrowed his eyes at her.

"No sex…for a week and I get my money?" She nodded fervently. "No questions asked. I can just leave when everything is done?" Again she nodded. He shrugged one shoulder, "I can make that work."

"Well, there is one…small detail I didn't mention." She said…her voice soft and a bit nervous. "You'd have to stay at my place. The social worker wants to see two steady adults in the house hold before she'll give me custody." When he looked ready to object she pushed on adding quickly, "You'll have your own room, access to the whole house, wont have to pay any rent or utilities. Really you wont have to be there except to sleep. Please…I'm not above begging." She really was desperate. She wanted this kid and would take any amount of humiliation to get her.

"Fine I'll do it." It was against his better judgment but he just couldn't see this ray of sunshine dim before his very eyes. If he could do something to keep her glowing he would. Hell it was only a week, and he'd be getting paid for it. That was hardly a bad deal. "When do we start?"


	2. Chapter 2

Beth paced around her living room. She'd given Daryl the address of her apartment at the diner after she calmed him down. He'd been livid and about ready to walk out when she explained that he needed to move in right away and that the social worker was coming the next afternoon. That was this morning, and she had expected him to be here earlier. It was almost five now. She pulled out her phone and looked at it willing him to text her or call her or let her know what was going on. Maybe he'd backed out. Maybe he didn't want to help her. Well, it had been clear he didn't want to help her, but maybe he'd changed his mind about being able to go through with it. It was a big favor of her to ask someone she'd never met. Just as she was about to succumb to the panic rising up within her, a rough knock sounded on her door. She jumped almost a foot into the air before scurrying over to it. She flung the door open and there stood Daryl, a black duffle thrown over his shoulder, looking grumpy and uncomfortable.

She flashed him her biggest smile and motioned for him to come in. "Welcome. This is the place. It's not much, but it's mine and it works for me." She closed the door behind him as he walked towards the living room, scanning everything as he went. It was too bright, too clean for him. He wasn't used to it, but he guessed it was alright for a week. He could make it work. "This is the living room, the kitchen is over there. Down the hall is the guest bath and the bedrooms." She chattered away like everything was hunky dory, when everything really was as far away from hunky dory as it could get. He let out a whoosh of air. She talked too damn much. "Your room is over here…" She flung open the door to the spare room. It was simple and clean, light wood furniture trimmed in white and light blues. "I hope it's ok." She bit her lip gently. "Anyway, my room is across the hall." She looked over to her door and then back at him. "I don't have many rules, but just for this week, don't bring strange girls here?" He turned on her, still having never said anything. "I just would hate for the social worker to come and find some stranger here…" she trailed off as he stepped close to her. He was trying to intimidate her, and frankly, it was working.

"Won't be no strange girls." He grumbled out, stepping past her into the room. "Don't do that in my own place, and won't do that here. You have my word." She gave him a dubious look. "I ain't got much, but I got my word. A Dixon's word is law as far as we're concerned." He set his bag down on the bed.

"Anything you need, I'll get it. This is my deal and I'm not going to put you out." He turned and looked at her and her cheeks tinted pink. "Well, anymore than I already am by having you basically move in with me." She amended.

"I'll let you know, but I think I've brought everything I'll need for the week." She looked at his little duffle that really only seemed about half full. "Don't really have much to begin with." He looked around and then looked at her as she watched him.

"Well, I'll just leave you to it. I'm going to start dinner, anything in particular you don't like?" He gave her a shrug as he turned to start putting stuff away. She nodded and turned to leave, pausing to speak for only a moment. "Thank you. You really have no idea what this means to me." With that she left. He gritted his teeth. He knew exactly what it meant to her. It meant fifteen hundred dollars and free room and board for a week. He felt bad asking for that amount of money. He'd really only picked the first number that popped into his head, aiming for outrageous so she would have no choice but to withdraw her offer. She hadn't. She'd agreed without even blinking an eyelash. He was stuck. He knew she couldn't afford to pay him, but she would and he would be off to start over, where the sins of his past didn't rule his life. He set up his stuff in the room and looked around. It felt claustrophobic in here. Too clean. Too light. Filled with too many things that weren't his. This was going to be a tough week.

A smell wafted to him from the kitchen and, without trying to seem too interested, he poked his head out of the hall and watched as she moved around her kitchen. Her pale blond hair was piled high up on her head, a few long strands escaping and tickling the delicate skin of her neck. She was singing softly, to a song that must have been blaring in the earbuds currently in her ears, and she didn't hear him come up and lean against the counter. She jumped when she turned around and saw him. She yanked her earbuds out of her ears.

"Sorry. I'm not used to having company." She mumbled and tucked her headphones into her pocket. He gave her a noncommittal sound and she turned back to the big pot cooking on the stove. Beth could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She was nervous and on edge. She didn't know how she was going to come up with fifteen hundred dollars but she would. She had to in order to get Judith and _nothing_ would keep her from getting Judith. "It's not much…" She spoke over the pot, "But it's all I had on hand. I hope you like spaghetti." Again another noncommittal sound as she stirred the boiling noodles and moved to get some bowls down from the cabinet. She carried the pot over to the colander sitting in the sink and drained the noodles. She dished up two bowls of noodles and topped them off with sauce. She handed him a bowl. "I uh, I have some soda in the fridge. No beer though." She looked sheepish.

"Lemme guess, not old enough to buy it legally yet?" He didn't even need her to answer. The flaming red on her cheeks said it all.

"I turn twenty one in a couple months." She picked at one of the bracelets on her wrists nervously.

"It's not a big deal. Don't drink much anyway." He dug into the pasta with vigor. It was good. Probably the best home cooked meal he'd ever had. His ma hadn't been much of cook, burning most of the meals she tried to make. When she had died his dad had preferred a more…liquid diet…so Daryl had survived on whatever he could throw together. "This is good." He offered. She looked over at him and cast him a soft smile.

"Thanks." Daryl was a man of few words. He'd really barely talked to her since he'd gotten here. They needed to hammer out the details for the rest of the week. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to. "Is your room ok?" She asked. She was trying to make conversation. Daryl wanted none of it. Without responding he walked back towards his room. He wasn't here to get touchy feely and have small talk over pasta. Beth watched him go and let out a long breath. She sunk down on to a chair at her dining room table, her head in her hands. Her eyes brimmed with tears. This was never going to work. He couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her. How were they going to convince a social worker that they were in love and a stable home for little Judith? She sniffled, trying to suck back the tears. How were they going to make this work?

Daryl made it to his room before he overheard her sniffling in the kitchen. He momentarily felt bad. She was just trying to be friendly. It wasn't her fault he was inept at social interactions. He shut his door and made a promise to himself. He was going to try to be nicer to her. It wasn't going to be easy, but he would try. That was all he could do.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl jerked awake and looked around, slightly panicked. He had no clue where he was. Surrounded by blue and white curtains, and soft bedding, his mind was disjointed and jumbled upon entering the world of the wakeful. It only took a moment for him to remember the deal and where he was and why. He let out a groan and stretched as he got out of bed. He dressed quickly in a pair of ratty and stained pants and a dark shirt. He had to go to work today and his uniform was in his locker at the shop. No need to be overly dressed for work. He got up and was surprised to find Beth already up, brewing coffee and sitting at her table staring into space. She'd been crying and he could tell from the fact that her eyes and the tip of her nose were all red rimmed. She was sipping a cup of coffee, her soft pink robe wrapped around her shoulders, which were hunched around the cup like she was trying to stay warm. He was suddenly filled with a little guilt. She looked so hopeless and sad, and he couldn't help but feel responsible after last night's brush off.

"Morning." He mumbled and was surprised to see her straighten and smile at him.

"Good morning!" She chirped and stood up. "Would you like coffee? I have creamer in the fridge and sugar in the cupboard. You know, if you want?" He shrugged a shoulder and looked at the clock on the microwave. He was actually up earlier than normal for work.

"Sure coffee sounds great. Just black thanks." She poured him a cup and moved to hand it to him. "Look, just wanted to apologize for last night. I was an ass and I shouldn'ta been." She looked startled and then flustered by his apology. "Just not used to being around most people." She gave him a shrug of her own.

"It's alright."

"No it ain't." He met her eyes. "You're trying to get this kid a home and I'm not exactly making it easy. I'm gonna try, but I'm not going to just be chatty. It's gonna take time. Now, when is the social worker's first visit?"

"Today. About six."

"Alright and what exactly is she going to want to see? I mean…from me?" She bit her lip.

"That you're a balanced individual…and that," she looked away, "we're committed to being a family. I'm assuming she's going to want to make sure I'm not faking it, which I obviously am. I'll do most of the talking, I guess, since she'll be focused more on me anyhow."

"How did we meet?" She gave him a confused look.

"At the diner…" He shook his head.

"No. I mean…for the social worker, how did we meet? How long have we been together? First date? Have I met your family? Have you met mine? We need to at least hammer out the details before this chick shows up and calls our bluff." She looked flustered.

"Uhm…We met through a mutual friend. Rosita. She introduced us at a gathering we were both at. Maybe a birthday?" She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Been together…I don't know Daryl. How long ago was your last relationship?"

"We've been together two years." He said flatly. He wasn't going to admit that he hadn't had a serious relationship his entire life. Flings didn't count. If they did he would still be shamefully inexperienced.

"I only have Maggie and Glenn left. Maggie is my sister, and Glenn is her husband. If we've been together two years, you've obviously met them." She bit her lip. That could pose a problem. She'd have to let Maggie into the little scheme and it was going to cost her something much more dear than money. She didn't want to ask her sister for help, but she had to. "Have I met your family?"

"No." again, his response was flat, leaving no room for argument.

"Ok…" She paused. "First date?" This was where he got uncomfortable. She watched him. His shoulders stiffened. His eyes narrowed just a touch. Her eyes widened. She was learning his signals. She could tell when he was getting uncomfortable.

"Look. I gotta get to work." His voice dropped off as he turned towards the door, leaving the mug of coffee behind untouched.

"Alright. What time do you get off?"

"I'll be back a lil after four." She nodded and watched as he stormed out the door all fire and fury. She had no idea what had pissed him off this time, but she would bet her left arm it had something to do with whatever made him uncomfortable.

Daryl wanted to yell at someone. He'd been so uncomfortable it had been strangling him. He had no clue about relationships and dates. He was in his late thirties and talking about getting cuddly made him itchy and uncomfortable in a way no self-respecting man would admit to. At least he'd helped her realize they'd needed more of a back story than they were simply together. Those pieces of a puzzle were usually important, right? Or, maybe she had known it and just simply hadn't known how to bring up the questions. This was all so confusing. There was no way some social worker was going to look at her, and look at him and actually believe they were together. She was so bright and perky, he was…well he didn't know what to call himself but it sure as hell wasn't bright or perky. He climbed into his truck and sat there before turning it on. As he drove to work his mind whirled around a million miles a minute. What did you do for a girl for a date? He'd never really been on a date, so he had no idea what to expect. What she would expect. Well, _if_ he were to take Beth on a date he'd give her flowers and take her somewhere nice. That was what a girl wanted in a date right? To be treated special? Like she was a princess, showered with expensive gifts and food.

Somehow, even after only knowing her for twenty four hours, that didn't sound like Beth. That didn't sound like something she'd want. Sure she'd want to be treated special, everyone did, but she wouldn't want things with big price tags. He pulled up to work, the smallest auto shop in the whole town and waited. As his eyes lingered on the sign outside he realized, he had no idea what she did for work, and he was fairly certain he'd never mentioned where he worked either. He pulled out his phone and awkwardly dialed her number, hesitating before pushing the call button. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"I'm a mechanic." He said tersely into the receiver.

"Ok." She said softly. She waited, but it didn't seem like he was going to say anymore. She debated whether or not to hang up before it dawned on her. "I wait tables part time. And I work on my daddy's farm…it belongs to Mags now, but I work there most days."

"Ok." There was another long awkward pause.

"Ok. Well, I'd better get going so I can get ready for work." He gave her a soft 'mm' the wheels in his mind still turning. "Alright, bye." She hung up before he could respond and he was struck with the sensation of wanting to call her back just so he could hear her voice. He shoved his phone into his pocket and got out of his truck. He stalked inside and was grateful others chose not to come too close today. He pulled on his uniform shirt and moved over to his bay. He had a transmission that needed to be rebuilt and after that he was scheduled for a motor flush. He was thankful for the transmission work. He could be stuck doing oil changes and tire rotations like some of the other guys. Some days he would have preferred the easy work, but not today. Today he needed to keep his brain thinking otherwise it might fall into Beth territory and he didn't want to spend his day mooning over some girl paying him to be her boyfriend.

The day went quickly for him. After he'd finished the flush he'd had a car rolled into his bay that needed the whole engine torn apart down to the block. Something had made the sucker lock up and refuse to move, even by hand. He'd had it half torn apart before Tyreese, a big hulking bear of a man, got his attention and let him know it was quitting time. He gave Tyreese a nod. Tyreese was a good guy. Huge and hulking but he was like a big teddy bear, all soft and gooey on the inside. Daryl didn't know anything about soft and gooey, but he and Tyreese got along well enough. Daryl wiped his hands on a rag and cleaned up his bay. He'd have to finish this engine tomorrow. He looked at the clock on his phone and nearly swore. It was almost five and he should have been back to the apartment by now. He ducked out and hopped in his truck, not bothering to dial her number and call. She lived just around the block so he'd be back faster than he could call her.

He stomped up the stairs and to the door to the apartment before he halted. Did he knock? Did he just walk in? He didn't have a key, what if it was locked? Before he could contemplate it too much, Beth rounded the corner from the stairs. She was a sight he'd never seen before. She was filthy and covered from head to toe in hay. She was sweaty and he could see dirt smeared across her face and on her, once yellow now brown spotted, shirt. "Jesus girl. What the hell happened to you?" Her cheeks reddened, although he could barely tell under all the grime.

"Mags needed some help at the farm today." She said. "One of the farm hands was gone so I had to head up and help clean and relay the hay in the stables. Then we had a sow go into labor but the piglets were breached. That's why I'm so late. Oh…" She paused and looked at the door and then back at him. "You left so early this morning I forgot. Here." She pulled a key out of her back pocket. "I meant to take it to you today at work, but…I wasn't sure if that would be ok. I hope you weren't waiting long." She looked so defeated and he couldn't for the life of him understand why.

"Nah. Got caught up in an engine tear down, I lost track of time. I just pulled up myself." He reached for the key and his fingers brushed hers. He was mortified to find that electricity shot up his arm from the small points of contact.

"Good." She smiled and unlocked the door, letting him in first. "You go ahead and shower first." He looked down at himself and then at her.

"Nah. You take the first one. You're dirtier than me anyway." He was suddenly very thirsty at the thought of Beth taking a shower. With the thought came unbidden images. Oh this wasn't good. He pulled open the fridge to see what was available to him. He blinked as he looked and saw there was a little of everything, fresh and new, most of it unopened. He turned and looked at her.

"I picked up some groceries at the store in between jobs. Maggie even bought some beer for me, though I wasn't sure what kind you'd like. I hope that stuff is ok." He looked back to the fridge and then back at her.

"Yeah. S'fine. Thanks." He paused, "Go on girl. We gotta be fed and showered before six." The reminder spurred her into action and she turned on her heel towards the bathroom. Instead of a beer, he grabbed a cup and poured himself some water. The woman worked two jobs, one job probably worked her harder in a day than he did in a week, and she still found time to go grocery shopping rather than going out for some greasy fast-food like he was used to doing. He suddenly knew what their first date would have been, IF they had gone on one. He'd have given her a night off. Cooked her dinner, done the dishes and let her feel pampered by being allowed to sit down and enjoy herself. As the thought struck him that he still could do that for her, without it technically counting as a date and being weird, he heard her emerge from her room. She bounced into the kitchen freshly clean, wet hair pulled back into a lose braid, that sat on a towel slung over a nice grey tank top and jeans. He momentarily lost his words when she smiled at him. She shooed him out of the room and he heaved a sigh, telling himself he wasn't no maid anyway.

Beth pulled out a baking sheet and coated the pork chops with seasonings and oil. She popped it into the oven and started to work on the side dish. She kept herself busy. She could hear the water running in the guest shower and if she stopped to think about it, pictures of Daryl would pop into her mind, and suddenly they changed to decidedly adult images of Daryl, in the shower, covered in soap, surrounded by hot water, and steam and…oh. Beth paused. This was not good. Sure she thought he was attractive but it was really a bad idea to start having x-rated thoughts about your fake boyfriend in the shower. Especially when the man couldn't stand to have a conversation with you. She straightened her shoulders. She could do this. She was a big girl. She could just ignore it. Or so she thought, until she heard the door to the bathroom open and glanced up in time to see Daryl bolt around the corner into his room in nothing but a towel that was slung low across his hips. She stood there gripping the counter for dear life until she didn't think she would make a total fool of herself when she let go.

This was such a bad idea…


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner was a quiet affair, but at least Beth got Daryl to sit at the table with her. She wasn't going to push her luck with conversation. She also wasn't feeling brave enough to talk to him after catching a glimpse of him in a towel. The picture still kept popping up into her head, and while she didn't think he'd noticed, she definitely didn't want to actually say anything out loud about it. She moved to pick up the dishes and placed them in the sink. She stopped at the stove. "Do you…do you take lunches to work?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

"I'll pack this up and you can take it to work tomorrow. Figure it could save you some money, and we've got enough leftovers." She flashed him a smile. He nodded.

"Alright." She packed up and stuck the leftovers in the fridge. Before she could start on the dishes there was a quick and precise knock at the door and Beth froze where she was. Daryl stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Relax." He said and made his way to the door. He opened it and was face to face with a woman that made even him tremble a little. There was no way Beth could do this by herself. "Hello." He swung the door wide.

"Good evening Mr. Greene." Beth was instantly at his side.

"He's not Mr. Greene." She said quickly, extending her hand to the social worker. "But I'm Beth Greene. We've spoken on the phone a few time?"

"Right. Of course." The social worker stepped past him giving him a once over like she was trying to figure out what kind of con he was running. He let it go. He was used to it. "Michonne. Michonne Anthony. I am the social worker that will be dealing with your case." Daryl felt Beth tense next to him but he didn't know what to do to help.

"Alright. What do we do first?"

"I'm just going to ask you some questions. Routine." The both nodded. "How are you two related?"

"We're dating." Daryl offered.

"He's my boyfriend." Michonne looked at the two of them, scrawling down a few notes.

"How did you meet?"

"We were at a birthday party for a friend. Our friend Rosita introduced us." Beth was beginning to fidget.

"How long have you two been together?"

"Can I ask somethin'?" Daryl asked quickly. Michonne nodded once. "How does our past really factor into us getting the kid?"

"I have to ask these questions. We want to ensure that the child is going to a stable environment. Foster and adoptive children need stability in their lives to promote bonding and it wouldn't be wise to give a child to a turbulent household. Like someone who wasn't seriously committed to being a part of a family." She looked between them again. "So, how long have you two been together?"

"Two years." Beth answered quickly. Michonne looked around quickly and scribbled down some notes.

"Have you thought about solidifying your commitment?" Beth stared blankly at Michonne while Daryl just opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"We're tryin' t'adopt a kid. How much more solid do you want us to make it?" Daryl grumbled. He wasn't helping matters, and he knew it, but that was just a ridiculous question.

"We need to know you're in this for the long run. Simply dating, you two could split up at anytime."

"And we could divorce or die if we were married. At least this way it's less complicated." Michonne quirked an eyebrow before writing some more notes down.

"I think what he means," Beth started slowly. "Is that we're not the marriage kind of couple. I don't need a big white wedding. I just need to know that he's here with me in this and I'm fine." She reached for his hand, without thinking and twined her fingers with his. He stared at their hands and then back up at Michonne. Michonne looked thoughtful.

"Alright, what do you do for work, I'm sorry, I never caught your last name?"

"Dixon. I work at the autoshop in town. Steady 40 hours a week." He saw her scrawl his last name in the margin of her papers, and then glanced back down at his hand that still held Beth's. He could feel little prickles of electricity from their joined hands.

"Alright. We're going to have to do a background check." He stiffened. "Check your employment. And you Beth? Where do you work?"

"I work on the family farm most times, and part time at a diner in town." Michonne frowned.

"How is child care going to work for you two? You both have full work schedules, who is going to care for Judith?" Beth looked at her blankly and then looked at Daryl. She hadn't really thought that far in advance. She needed to figure it out before she got Judith and Daryl walked out. "Alright. I see that there are some details you still need to hammer out. I'll be back for our next routine appointment. Two days from now, does six still work?" They all stood, Beth still didn't let go of Daryl's hand.

"Sure. Six is perfect." Beth chimed excitedly. Michonne paused on her way to the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I need to see the room that the baby will be staying in. To make sure you are aptly prepared." Beth turned whiter than a sheet. That room was Daryl's room…how were they going to explain that?

"Uhm sure. But I have to warn you, I've been getting over a cold. I've been sleeping in the guest room for the past couple of days because I don't want to get Beth sick." Beth looked like she could have kissed him, and honestly he couldn't say that he minded right now. He had no idea where that thought had come from. They walked back to the spare room and he opened the door. Luckily all his stuff was in drawers and hidden away so it really only looked like he was using the bed.

"What about the crib and other nursery furniture?"

"We're ordering it." He grumbled. This was getting to be extremely uncomfortable. Michonne looked at him and then at Beth and gave them a curt nod.

"Alright. Well I guess everything is in order so far. You need to have that furniture by the end of this Miss Greene." Michonne pinned Daryl with a stern look. "I hope you get over whatever cold you were suffering from. Must have been bad to kick you out of your normal room." She eyed the door across the hall and then met his eyes. Something glimmered in those dark depths and Daryl felt his gut sink. She didn't believe them.

Michonne turned and made her way to the door, exiting with a final confirmation on the date and time of their next meeting. Beth shut the door and sagged against it. "That was rough." She almost whispered. Daryl didn't even comment just went straight to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He twisted the bottle cap off and tossed it in the trash.

"You can say that again. I don't think she bought a single damn word we were sayin'." Beth looked alarmed.

"No…she had to have believed. She would have said something right?" He shrugged a shoulder and took a long swig from his beer. She sunk down the door and curled up on the floor. He watched as she cradled her head in her hands. "What am I gonna do?" Her voice was soft and he could hear Beth's tears before he ever saw them.

"Hey." He knelt down by her, his hands resting gently on her knees. "We'll work it out. No need to give up hope yet girl."

"Really? You think so?" She looked up at him, her eyes all watery. He nodded and before he knew what was happening she had her arms wrapped around his neck hugging him. He patted her back to try to comfort her. They had two days to hammer out all the details and make that social worker believe them.

Daryl tossed and turned in his bed. He looked at the clock. It was almost two in the morning. He heard something shifting in the kitchen and sat up. There was no way Beth would be up at this hour. He got up and on silent feet and trekked through the kitchen in the dark. He peeked into the kitchen and was floored by what he saw. Beth was sitting at the table, a bottle of vodka between her and him, a small, now empty, tumbler in her hand. Right before his very eyes she filled the tumbler half full and shot it back in one quick motion. He stepped forward. "Greene, what are you doing?" She jumped and looked at him.

"What's it look like?" She spat harshly. He stood there for a moment, absorbing the fact that his little Greene girl was angry and she was drunk. "Swallowing my problems." She grumbled.

"What problems Greene?" He was starting to get angry.

"The fact that I just want to get this kid, and nothing seems to want to work out. I gotta give up a job, which is going to hurt financially when I'm raising a kid. I gotta spend money I don't have to buy furniture I can't afford yet. I gotta find a way to pay you. I can't get a real boyfriend to stick around without banging some other girl. Oh, but the kicker. The kicker to all those problems," she started to pour more liquor into her glass. "I can't even buy my own booze to get hammered! I have to have my older sister buy it for me and give me 'the look' as she drops it off." She air quoted the words 'the look' and then dropped her arms to the table, bowing her head. "I'm an adult!" She was almost hysterical. He didn't know how to handle this. She took a breath. "Sorry. I'm just so pissed you know?" She looked up at him, her eyes clear – clear-ish and motioned for him to sit down.

"C'mon Greene. Let's at least do this in the comfort of the living room. The kitchen is too damn cold." He picked up her bottle and glass, watching as she stood with a wobble and led the way to the couch. She reached for her glass and giggled when she missed and went down on the couch with nothing in her hand. He set her glass down, next to another glass he snagged on his way out of the kitchen. Gently he tipped some liquor into each glass and sat down. They tapped glasses and he moved to take a sip.

"Wanna play a drinking game?" She eyed him with a sly grin. He shrugged.

"Sure. How do you play?"

"You think of something you've never done. If the other person has done it they drink, if they haven't you drink."

"Don't seem like much of a game." He held up his glass. "You start."

"I have never been out of Georgia." Daryl grinned.

"Drink up." Beth took a sip. "I have never been to a farm." Beth snorted and took a big drink.

"Was raised there. Lived there until I was seventeen, just after my mom and brother died." She frowned as if just remembering her dear loved ones. She shook her head. She didn't want to dwell on the negative. She just wanted to get drunk and wake up regretting it tomorrow. "I've never gotten drunk and done something I regretted." He rolled his eyes and took a swig.

They shared back and forth until Beth couldn't keep her eyes open or her head up. Daryl cracked a small smile and shook his head. "C'mon Greene. Let's get you to bed." He picked her up, one arm around her back, one under her knees, ignoring her protests that she could walk on her own. By the time they reached her door her head was rested against his shoulder, nestled against his neck. He heard her mumble something under her breath, "What?" Her eyes were shut and he didn't think she was awake anymore but when she spoke an arrow of awareness shot through him.

"You smell good." She nuzzled his neck. Daryl took a breath and gently set her down on her bed. He'd never really been in her room. It suited her. Oak wood furniture trimmed in the typical white and blue linens. She had pictures of her family and friends up on the walls and on her dresser. She looked so happy all the time. No one ever knew how hard she worked, and how much she sacrificed for everyone else.

"Greene, you're gonna hurt like hell tomorrow." He made his way into the bathroom and found some pain killers, setting two of them on the nightstand. He filled a glass with water and set that next to it. He sat down on the edge of her bed. "Greene?" He said cautiously. "Greene?" Still no response. "Beth…" He brushed some hair out of the way and watched as her glazed eyes drifted open. "You gotta take these and drink some water. Hopefully you can keep them down." She nodded and sat up slightly, popping the pills and downing half the water. She looked up at him.

"Is the room supposed to be spinning?" Her voice was small, and half asleep. He smiled into the darkness.

"Yeah. That means you did it right." She nodded and laid back down. She grabbed his hand.

"Thank you Daryl. For everything." He nodded and tried to pull his hand away, but found he couldn't quite do it. The feeling of holding her hand felt too good. He looked at her sleeping face. There was no way she was going to make it to work tomorrow. He brushed some hair away from her eyes and stood up, letting her hand fall gently back to the bed. Silently he went back out to the living room and cleaned up the glasses and almost empty bottle of vodka. Once everything was as it should be he went back to his room and laid down, looking at his clock. Hell, he only had about an hour and a half until he had to get up for work. He was going to be lagging that was for sure. He shut his eyes and tried not to think about how nice it had felt holding her. How sweet it had been with her head nuzzled against his neck, breathing into his skin. He tried not to think about the fact that he liked holding her hand, and listening to her talk. Crap. He liked her. This wasn't supposed to happen. No strings attached. He just needed to hang around, get his money and get the hell out of dodge.

Beth awoke to a strange pounding. She grumbled wondering who could be at the door this early. It took her a moment to realize the pounding was actually coming from her head. She snapped up in bed and was overwhelmed by pain and dizziness the likes of which she had never felt before. Her stomach lurched and she flopped out of bed, scurrying across the room on her hands and knees to her bathroom. As soon as she reached the toilet she dry-heaved until she felt like her insides were going to become her outsides.

Daryl opened his eyes, grimacing as he heard retching coming from the room across the hall. _Damn Merle…_ it was the decidedly feminine voice that cleared the fog for his half asleep mind to remind that he had gotten Beth properly tanked last night and now she was experiencing her first hang over. He sighed, pulled out his phone and dialed work. "Won't be in today." He didn't give an explanation and his boss, Andrea, had learned long ago that he only ever called in for serious emergencies. He clicked his phone off and made his way into Beth's room. He could still hear her retching and made his way to the bathroom. He opened the door and flipped on the light before shutting it back off when a very undignified and painful screech sounded from somewhere in Beth's vicinity.

"I'm dying…" She croaked as she flushed the toilet, more out of habit rather than anything actually being inside it, and leaned against the wall behind her.

"You're not dying. You're hung over. It just feels like you're dying." She groaned and he heard a soft thump of her head resting back against the wall. "Come on. You don't want to sit on the cold hard floor. It will just make it worse." She groaned again.

"It's ok Daryl…just leave me to die. I deserve this." She felt him scoop her up into his arms and start to carry her to her bed. She expected him to just dump her and leave her, but he didn't. Gently he set her down and pulled the covers up to her chin. The sun was starting to peek through the curtains and lighting up the room. She wanted to bury her face in the pillow and never get up.

"You look like shit girl."

"Thanks. You're such a charmer." She grumbled, an arm coming to cover her eyes in the hopes of making the pain stop. "If you're not careful, you'll have me falling in love with you saying such sweet nothings." She was teasing, and felt like hell, but Daryl didn't miss the flipping of his stomach when he heard her soft words. He gave a snort. "Daryl you don't have to do this. I'm a big girl. I can crawl to the bathroom and then back to my bed."

"Eh. Done it for my brother a time or two, you're a fair sight better lookin' than he is." He was teasing back. Her mouth twisted into the grimmest looking smile he'd ever seen. "You stay here and get some rest. I'll get ya some water." He stood and walked into the kitchen, opting for a big girl glass rather than the little rinse cup from her bathroom. He filled it with some ice and water and then grabbed some saltine crackers out of the cabinet. When he got back into her room she was at least sitting up, hunting for something in the covers. When she came up triumphant a small remote clutched in her hand she looked over at him and smiled the biggest smile she could muster. The second she saw the crackers she was shaking her head and making a bee-line for the bathroom. "I know the last thing you wanna do is eat, but you gotta get something in there to settle you. It's either plain crackers or I can get ya some hair of the dog…" He watched as she leaned against the door jamb to her bathroom and studied him.

"You come near me with alcohol and I'm kickin you out." She muttered. She was still teasing him, this was good. Maybe she wasn't as bad off as he thought. She came forward and it was then that he noticed she wasn't really dressed. She wore a pair of sleep shorts, but they were much too short, in Daryl's opinion, and a cotton tank top. She probably wasn't going for looks, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking she looked sexy as hell. She took the water from his hand and drank almost all of it before gingerly eating one saltine cracker. She wrinkled her nose but took another. He set the sleeve of crackers down on her nightstand as she climbed into bed. "Aren't you gonna be late for work?"

"Called off."

"What are you sick too or something?" She flipped on the tv and scrolled through channels. There wasn't much on besides infomercials, so she turned the volume real low.

"Or something." He supplied vaguely. He watched as she patted the bed next to her.

"Misery loves company." She said and folded the blankets back slightly. "You know, if you want. I'm probably just gonna sleep it off…as best I can." She felt her cheeks redden, but met his eyes. She had liked being carried in his arms, and it touched her that he was being so sweet after she'd made an idiot of herself after her first night of drinking. She watched as he mentally debated with himself and then moved to the empty side of her bed. She was startled when he laid down and she saw exactly how much he filled up her bed. She didn't have a small bed, but it seemed tiny with his big, warm body laying down next to hers.

"Pass them crackers." She nodded dumbly and passed him some. She watched him for a few minutes before her eyes got heavy and she succumbed to sleep. Daryl watched her sleeping as she burrowed down into her blankets and pillows. He sighed as he settled himself. Her bed was a hell of a lot more comfortable than his was. It wasn't long before he was falling into the clutches of sleep as well.

When Daryl woke next, the sun was streaming its warming rays through the windows, making the room bright. But it wasn't the brightness that woke him. He was overly warm. It didn't take him long to figure out why, when a delicate hand shifted against his side, pulling him closer. Beth's head was pillowed on his shoulder, an arm thrown across his torso, and a leg tucked between his. It took all of Daryl's will power not to curl closer around her. Instead, he could tell she was beginning to wake up, so he shut his eyes and tried to keep his breathing even. It might be less mortifying to have her think he didn't know she'd been wrapped around him. He knew the moment she was fully awake because her whole body froze. Slowly, so as not to disturb him, she peeled herself away and made her way into the bathroom. He listened for a heart beat until he heard the shower turn on and then made his way to his own room to get dressed and get something more than saltines to eat.

Beth focused on her breathing as the hot water cascaded around her. It had been an interesting day and it was only nine in the morning! She'd woken up with her very first hangover, thrown up, had Daryl carry her back to bed, invited Daryl to lay in bed with her, and woken up wrapped around Daryl's warm form. To say she hadn't enjoyed waking up wrapped around him would have been the worst kind of lie. She'd wanted to curl closer around him and saturate herself in his scent. The feeling had been so overwhelming she'd all but jumped out of bed to get in the shower. That was how she found herself, in the shower, desperately fighting the urge to walk out there and cuddle up to the man.


	5. Chapter 5

Daryl stared at the clock at work counting down the minutes until he was off. He'd never been one to dislike work, but today he had something planned. He'd watched as Beth, raging hangover and all went about her day, cleaning the house and getting ready for work. It was only when he'd held her keys hostage that she'd admitted she didn't really feel well enough to go to the farm and help out today. She'd then called Maggie, getting the 'I told you so's out of the way quickly before hanging up. The woman worked too damn hard. She needed a night where someone took care of her, because once she had that kid, unless she really did find a boyfriend, she wasn't going to have another night off for a very long time. Daryl couldn't stop the scowl he tossed at the clock when the thought of Beth and a boyfriend crossed his mind. This was bad. We was getting too attached to someone who wouldn't think twice when he walked out that door. The clock struck four and Daryl hopped out of his bay, leaving the tires off the car he was working on.

He hopped in his truck, and high tailed it to the local furniture shop before it closed. He'd ordered a crib for the spare room. He'd heard Beth talking to Maggie trying to convince her to help out, it hadn't gone well. Beth had been gracious, this was her goal and she couldn't expect her family to give her hand outs. He'd been astonished. He'd ordered one the minute he'd gotten to work the next day and they'd said it would take them twenty four hours. He'd gotten the call that they had it in inventory at his lunch and had been anxious to get it and take it home. He pulled up to the store and dashed out. Getting the thing in his truck and getting to the apartment was getting Daryl excited. He felt like he was finally doing something right. Something good.

He trekked up the stairs, the big box (this model had to be assembled) awkwardly tucked under his arm. When he reached the door, key in hand he could hear Beth talking frantically on the other side of the door. He unlocked the door and saw that Michonne had shown early, an hour early. Dinner was burning and Beth was babbling about planning on buying the furniture for the nursery on her next paycheck, which wasn't until Friday. Michonne looked like she wasn't having any of it. "Miss Greene you have known about this visit for two days now. You haven't made any steps towards providing a livable home for Judith."

"Hey now." He rumbled, feeling a little edgy. He didn't like that Michonne was making Beth feel like she wasn't doing enough. "What's going on?" Beth looked to him, trying to hold back angry tears.

"I-I was just explaining that I was planning on buying the crib and furniture for Judith on Friday, after pay day. You know…like we'd planned?" She was hoping he would go along with this.

"Yeah." He looked to Michonne. "We had planned on pooling our money together. Those pieces of furniture are high ticket items…" Michonne looked like she was going to speak, but Daryl interrupted her. "Which is why we only have the crib right now." Both women looked at him like he'd lost his mind. He pulled the box into the living room, raising an eyebrow at Beth. He expected to see relief, excitement, gratitude even…but what he got was hot anger. She was pissed and doing a poor job of hiding it. She stormed over to him.

" _We_ can't afford the crib right now." She was trying to watch what she was saying, but he could read between the lines. She couldn't pay him back for the crib and didn't want any handouts. "That's why we've been budgeting and saving." His temper flared.

"Can't a guy do something nice for…" He paused, choking on the words. "his family?" The fire in her eyes seemed to leap to life.

"A guy shouldn't make big expensive purchases without consulting his family!"

"This guy wanted to do something nice as a surprise because you work too damn hard and sacrifice too damn much as it is!" Their voices were raising. "You know what, you need to learn to be grateful and not so damn self-sacrificing. It ain't a crime for someone to buy you a damn gift, but you go and throw it back in their face!" He turned to leave.

"Daryl wait…" She reached for him.

"Nah. I need some air. You can do what you want with the damn crib, keep it, sell it, use it for firewood. I don't care." With that he was gone, the door slamming behind him. Beth fought the urge to run after him, slowly, stiffly she turned to face Michonne, barely holding back tears.

"We have a crib." She said before the first tear fell. Michonne was there next to her, an arm around her shoulders. "I can do this. I promise. I can do this by myself…if he doesn't come back. I can. I love that little girl and I'll give her everything she could ever want…" Michonne sat down with her on the couch, trying to calm her down.

"Miss Greene. Breathe. Miss Greene, every couple has fights." Beth met her eyes. "You're going to be ok. I can tell that man loves you very much, and he's not going to let a fight over a crib come between you two." The thought that this stranger thought Daryl loved her stuck in her mind.

"You think so?"

"Honey I know so. My family and I didn't get to where we are without our fair share of fights, and adopting this little girl is a stressful thing. This won't be the last fight you have before that little girl is all grown up." Beth tried to take a few calming breaths and wiped at her eyes. "Now, I can help you set that thing up while we go over a couple more questions and requirements before our next meeting." Beth gave her a watery smile.

"I'd like the help, even just getting it into the room. I think Daryl wanted to set it up together. I don't want to…" She didn't know what she didn't want to do, but she was definitely going to wait for him to get back to put it together. "I'm just going to wait for Daryl to get back."

Daryl stormed down the stairs and into his truck. He was almost four blocks away before he registered that he was just driving and he had no idea where he was going. He thought about going to the nearest bar, but he didn't want to drink when he was angry. That was what his dad did, or maybe his dad just drank and became angry. Either way, he didn't want to go down that path. That girl was just so infuriating. She couldn't take a gift and be thankful for it. Lord knows she'd received enough gifts from family. That made him pause, he wasn't family. He was basically a stranger; he'd like to consider them friends. They'd talked and spent enough time together the past three days. He didn't know everything about her, and she didn't know everything about him, but they knew more about each other than their siblings did. She knew his dad was an ass, didn't know why exactly, and had never seen the scars, but it was more than anyone else, aside from Merle, knew about his family. He knew she'd lost her mom and older brother to a farm accident and had fallen into a deep depression. That was why she wore so many of those damn bracelets. She was trying to hide the scar.

To Daryl, they definitely were friends at the very least. _But at the end of the week you're taking her money and walking out that door._ A little voice in the back of his head reminded him. That would put anyone on edge when it came to an expensive gift. She might have expected him to ask for reimbursement. This wasn't his kid. He had no reason to purchase something for her, especially when he'd never met the damn kid. He sighed as he pulled up to the next red light. She wasn't completely unjustified in getting angry, and he wasn't completely unjustified either. Neither one of them had given the other a chance. He hit his turn signal and turned right to start back tracking back to the apartment. Back to Beth.

Beth and Michonne were finishing a discussion in the living room when he walked back through the door. He didn't get a single word out before Beth was in his arms, wrapping him in her scent. He was so caught off guard when her hands settled on his cheeks and her lips were on his that he couldn't do anything but respond. His hands fisted in the back of her shirt and he pulled her closer. Her mouth opened slightly and her tongue popped out to wrestle with his. She tasted like vanilla and sweet and something he could only describe as Beth. He was reacting to her, and didn't know how to make it stop. He didn't really want to make it stop.

Beth had been so excited that he had come back the first thing that had popped into her head was to kiss this silly, infuriating man. Once she was kissing him, she really couldn't stop. He tasted good and she got lost in the kiss. She completely forgot Michonne standing behind her. She completely forgot this was all fake. She completely forgot everything outside of the feeling of being pressed up against him and kissing him. The kiss ended naturally, them both breathing hard and looking into the other's eyes. "Thank you, for the crib. I love it and it's perfect, and I think Judith is going to love it too. You are amazing."

"Ain't no big deal. I wanted to do it." He said, his voice thick with want. She smiled up at him. Both jerked apart at the clearing of a throat behind them.

"I'm glad that is resolved. Now. Our meeting tomorrow, I need to go over some paperwork and do some one on one discussion. Would it be better for me to schedule different times?"

"Our normal time is good." Beth said softly, letting go of Daryl. She reached down and twined her fingers with his though. He wanted to grin like an idiot at the simple contact. Michonne gave them a smile and then made her way to the front door. She touched Daryl's shoulder and murmured quietly to him.

"I'm glad you came back." He looked at her.

"Wouldn't just walk out on my family." He felt like the worlds dirtiest liar.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl found himself ending the night in the spare room, crib pieces all over the place and directions telling him to put pin A into slot Y and twist rod Q until it tightened against railing 2. No matter what he did, nothing was going together and he sighed. He got up and walked to the kitchen where he found Beth placing left over food into containers for lunch the next day. She hadn't noticed him. He smiled to himself. This felt good, felt right. To have a home to come back to, someone that cared about him, at least he thought she cared about him. That kiss definitely hadn't been faked. Or if she had faked it, she deserved an Oscar for it. She turned and jumped a bit when she saw him standing there.

"How's it going?" She smiled as she put the leftovers away.

"Could be written in Chinese for all I can figure out." He grumbled. She pulled out a beer, popped the cap off and handed it to him.

"Would it hurt your manly pride if I came in and helped?"

"Nope." He took a swig off his beer. "I think I could use a second pair of eyes." She smiled and nodded.

Beth was glad he wasn't talking about the kiss. She didn't want to have to admit to him that she hadn't faked that. That she had genuinely been happy to see him back. She also didn't want to admit that she had wanted to do more than just kiss him. She was accepting the fact that she liked him, that she wanted him. Just because she was accepting it didn't mean that she was going to act on it.

Beth followed Daryl into his room and burst into a fit of giggles. "This place is a mess!" He half glared at her before a corner of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"Yeah. You read the directions and help me put this damn thing together." She picked up the papers that were stapled together making up the directions. She rattled off step one, making sure he had the correct pieces and helping him put them together.

"So, what is the deal with this kid anyway?" Beth looked at him and tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, where are her parents?"

"Oh. Honestly, I don't know much. The dad is a cop that got injured on the job. The mom died during labor." She took a breath. "I knew them when I was a baby. I guess they were really close friends with my dad before my mom died. They all just kind of drifted apart and I hadn't heard their name again until Maggie told me they were trying to find a home for the little girl." Daryl made a face.

"He'd have to be real injured not to be able to take custody of his baby. Or he's a deadbeat who is just signing her over." Beth looked horrified.

"No it's nothing like that. From what little I know, I think he's in a coma or something like that. They don't predict him making it, and there is no one else to take her in the family."

"And what happens if he does wake up?" She looked at him blankly, like the thought had never really occurred to her. Sweet, trusting Beth, why would it?

"I'll have to ask Michonne." She looked down at the directions and read the next step before pausing and looking up at him panicked. "You don't think they'd just take her away from me do you?" She looked so scared that it made his heart clench. He gave a shrug.

"I don't think they'd give her over and then just take her back. This adoption is legit right?" Beth nodded her head vigorously. "I guess this is somethin' we're gonna have to talk to Michonne about huh?" She sighed.

"I guess so."

They worked together following the steps, piecing the crib together, and teasing one another until the crib was completely finished. When it was done they stood back and admired their handy work.

"It really is a beautiful crib." She said and then looked around the room. It was a small room already, but with the crib there was no room for Daryl to stay in there. He'd already pushed the bed against the wall, with the foot against the dresser and blocking the closet. She looked back at him unsure of what to do. He knew exactly what she was thinking, had had the same thought when he moved the furniture, but it didn't matter to him. He'd sleep on the floor if it meant helping and giving Judith a place to sleep.

"I'll sleep on the floor if I have to." She wanted to protest, but couldn't think of where else to put him. She couldn't handle the sweet torture of having him sleep in her bed with her.

"Nah. I'll sleep on the floor in my room. You can take the bed. We're supposed to be sharing a room anyway right?" She could feel her stomach doing flip flops inside her and hoped he didn't read too much into her offer.

"You're not sleeping on the floor. May not be a gentleman, but I don't let women sleep on the floor while I lounge in the lap of luxury." She rolled her eyes.

"Well you're gonna have a hell of a time getting me in that bed!" She paused as his eyes met hers and felt her cheeks heat up. She bit her lip and shifted around awkwardly. Daryl scooped her up, holding her over his shoulder and took off towards her bedroom. She let out a shriek of giggles when he dropped her down on the bed. She bounced once before she sat up and grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. With a quick shove he rolled onto his back and she was over him, holding his shoulders down and pinning his legs with hers. "Ha! I win." He wasn't really fighting her and she knew it. His hands came and settled on her thighs and she was suddenly very aware of their positions. Her heart started thumping and she couldn't form words.

Daryl felt himself take a deep breath. She was straddling him, in her bed, smiling down at him triumphantly as her face tinted itself pink. "That kiss…" He rumbled out. He was taking a chance. Either this conversation would end with them tangled up with each other, or she'd get off of him and take off for the living room, babbling to cover her nerves. If her face was pink before, it was beet red now.

"The kiss?" She prompted. She didn't know what to say. Apparently he didn't either. She watched, as if everything was in slow motion, as he leaned up and caught her by the back of the neck. He pulled her down gently, and sealed her lips with his. He felt her hands slide up from his shoulders to the hair at the nape of his neck. That was a good sign. Beth sighed into the kiss, opening her mouth as his tongue begged entrance. She wanted him. Heat pooled in her belly, making her feel overly warm in his arms.

Daryl almost lost his nerve, until he tasted her and felt her move against him. There was no denying the pull towards Beth Greene. God he wanted her, and judging by the movements she was making against him, she wanted him too. His hands slid to her back and settled on her hips, pressing them down into him. He tasted her moan as he released one of his own. Their tongues were battling for dominance, and neither one really cared who won. "I want you, Daryl." She breathed. He kissed along her jaw and down her neck, reveling in the sounds she was making as he explored her skin with his lips and hands. He breathed a quiet 'mm' into her neck, and she couldn't exactly be sure if he was responding to her comment or simply saying she tasted good. Either way she didn't really care. She just wanted more of him. Without any warning he rolled them over so she was beneath him. A hand slid up to rest under her shirt, just below her ribs. It was like he was asking permission to touch her without using words.

Beth arched into his hand and groaned as she felt it move higher until he was palming her breast. Her legs came around his hips and she locked her ankles behind him, pressing his hardness right where she needed it most. She heard him let out a groan that made her surge with feminine pride. She needed more, and reached down to peel her shirt up and off of her. She watched as his blue eyes darkened just looking down at her. She was panting, but then again, so was he. His lips went back to her throat, sucking on a pulse point and making her gasp and writhe underneath him. It seemed like he was everywhere, touching her and coaxing gasps and sighs from her lips. She didn't know how much more she could take. She tangled a hand in his hair and pulled him greedily back up to her mouth. When she knew his mouth wouldn't trail away from hers, her hands snaked their way down to the fly of his pants. She got as far as popping the button free before he stilled her hands and pulled away to look at her.

He was hard and ready, but he had to think this through. They had to be safe. "You got protection?" His words were gruff and deep, showing that he was struggling with his control. She blanched and widened her eyes, finally thinking clearly. She shook her head once and was frantically trying to think of something to keep this from ending.

"I don't…I've never…" she bit her lip. "I've never done this before. I don't have any in the house." Her voice was soft and embarrassed. Daryl stared at her for a second. Part of him had a hard time believing she'd never done this before and part of him wasn't all that surprised. It left them with a problem. He wasn't going to take chances, at least not this early on, which meant they couldn't do exactly what he wanted tonight. He knew what they could do though and almost grinned at the thought. Tonight would be about her and making sure she was taken care of. He could wait. She was most important right now. "Daryl?"

"It's alright." He said changing gears a bit and gently guided her legs from around him. She looked worried and he leaned down and kissed her to keep her focusing on him. He pulled her to a sitting position, and blindly reached to undo her bra. With minimal fumbling (he'd never had to take a bra off a girl before, usually they just did it for him) he got the clasps undone and let the material fall away from her skin. God, she was beautiful. He was almost glad she didn't have protection in the house. Now he would get to watch her as he helped her fall apart. He'd be able to focus on her and commit every image of her to memory. He kissed a trail from her neck down over her collar bone to the swell of one breast. He went with her as she leaned back and rested, slightly reclined, on her hands. She watched, enthralled as he took a nipple into his mouth and sucked until it hardened in his mouth. He reached up to tweak and play with the hardened nipple, watching her face as it contorted into images of pure pleasure. He felt a swell of possessiveness. No one had ever seen Beth like this, and he wanted to make sure it stayed that way. The thought of another man touching her and hearing these sounds made him angrier than it should have, but he didn't care. He moved his attention to her other breast, lavishing the same attention on it until its nipple stood erect in the night air. He kissed the valley between her breasts, dragging his lips down against her skin. He kissed her ribs, and then her stomach, hips lips and tongue teasing her belly button before going lower to the top of her pants. His tongue snaked out and tracing the hem of her pants before his fingers quickly undid the button. She stilled, watching him. "Tonight is going to be about you." He rumbled as he pulled the zipper down. She arched her hips up so he could pull her pants down and off her legs, leaving her bare from head to toe.

Just looking at her made it difficult to breathe. He surged up and caught her lips in a hot kiss before gently guiding her to lie down. He kissed his way down her body again and settled between her thighs. He could feel her nerves and placed a kiss to the skin by her knee. "Beth, if you want to stop you just say the word, and I'll stop."

"I trust you Daryl." It was humbling to think about. This girl, woman, trusted him in her home, in her room, with her body. She'd known him not long but still she trusted him. He kissed up higher on the inside of her thigh. Her breathing was coming in quick short bursts. She was nervous, anxious, and excited all at once. He placed her leg up on his shoulder, kissing the spot where her leg met her pelvis. She sighed at the contact of his lips on her skin. His warm breath rolled over her most sensitive spot and it was the only warning she got before his tongue darted out and flicked over her core. Her back arched and she sucked in a breath, holding it, as his mouth and tongue danced over her sensitive flesh. Waves of pleasure shot through her causing moans and groans to rip from her throat. No one had ever done anything like this for her. It was so exciting and erotic and Beth knew she wasn't going to last long. Every pass of his tongue or fingers made the pleasure ratchet up higher.

Daryl was in awe as he watched her climb higher and higher. She was so beautiful and her pleasure was so raw and pure he couldn't help but watch captivated. She breathed his name and he knew she was close. Gently he teased her entrance before he pushed his finger up inside her. God she was tight. He moved his finger within her curling and working, looking for that…one…right…spot. He knew he found it when Beth let out a shout of pleasure and moved down on his hand, silently begging him to do it again. He grinned and kissed her thigh, rumbling into her skin. "Come for Beth. Let go and let me watch you come." She let out another cry, moving against him, trying to reach the peak she knew was right there. So close. He focused his attention on curling his finger while his thumb moved over her slick sensitive skin. She let out a shriek of pleasure and froze. His eyes were glued to her, watching as she fell apart in front of him, _because of him_. It made him painfully hard to watch, but he could wait. Tonight was about her and making her feel better. He coaxed her through the waves of pleasure that assaulted her until she was just a mass of quivering and shuddering next to him. He rearranged them until she was nestled against him wrapped up in covers. She curled around him contently until she felt the evidence of his arousal poking her in the stomach.

"Daryl…but you…"

"Can wait." He said simply. He wrapped her in his arms and rested a head on a pillow. He needed to get his jeans off to relieve some of the pressure, but didn't trust himself to do it just yet. Not so soon after watching Beth in the clutches of ecstasy. He'd wait until some of the blood had flowed back into his brain before he removed any of his clothes. Beth let out another sleepy sigh and nestled into his shoulder. It didn't take long before she was asleep, dead to the world. He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead before falling asleep himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl had slipped his jeans off in the middle of the night. He'd woken up and noticed he'd gone down in the night while he slept, but he still felt constricted. His jeans had slid to the floor, leaving him in his boxer briefs and his t-shirt. He'd fallen back to sleep quickly, Beth's warm body wrapped around him, enveloping him in her scent and warmth. It was the best sleep he'd ever had, coupled with the best dreams of Beth and sexy cries of pleasure. He was being pulled from that wonderful sleep by something and he was fighting it tooth and nail. Beth was currently moving against him, in his dream of course, and causing the most delicious pleasure to shoot through him. He didn't know what was waking him up, but he knew he wanted to stay in this dream. He wanted to keep hearing Beth make those sexy sounds, and feel her pressed against him. He wanted to keep feeling this feeling. As he drifted into the land of the wakeful his head was still foggy and his body was still pulsing with pleasure. The minute he heard Beth give a sigh of her pleasure he jerked awake, his eyes popping open to stare down at her. It was still dark in the room but he could see her clearly, head of blond hair bobbing over his lap.

A surge of pleasure shot up from his groin and he let out a deep groan, a hand going to tangle in her silken tresses. She had her lips wrapped around him, lazily stroking up and down, coaxing him awake in the most erotic way. Her eyes darted up to his and she watched his face as she sucked him back into her mouth. His eyes were dark and practically sinful just looking at her. Last night had been all about her, and she had loved it. It had been the single most amazing thing to happen to her in her entire life. When she woke up it was the first thing on her mind, but now she wanted to repay the kindness. She had started out just exploring him, she had no idea what to really do. She'd never done anything like this before in her life, and luckily he was asleep while she formed a plan. The second she decided she focused on him she was surprised to find him already half hard. She had touched him hesitantly at first, scared to wake him, and he had jumped alive in her hand. She grinned to herself and had set to work. She wasn't aware he'd woken up until he'd tangled a hand in her hair and let out a groan.

She moved her hand stroking him, while her lips moved over the tip and he let out a strangled noise in the back of his throat. She experimented with her lips, tongue and hands to see how loud she make that sound. She loved hearing everything he said to her in the dark, panting out her name, encouragements and sometimes hissing 'fucks' when she did something he particularly liked. His hips began to move with her and she could feel the muscles in his thighs tensing as he got close to his release. He gasped out her name gripping the blanket next to him with his free hand.

Daryl was seeing double. She swirled her tongue and tightened her lips around him and he slammed his eyes closed. No one had ever woken him up like this, and if she wasn't careful he'd get used to this kind of wake up. He could feel himself getting close. "Beth…" He groaned. "I'm close…" She tightened her lips around him and reveled in his groan. "If you're not careful you're gonna be a mess." She giggled around him and swirled her tongue for a final time before she felt him release into her mouth. She had been expected it and quickly swallowed as he emptied into her. While he was catching his breath she leaned over and gulped down some water from her nightstand, rinsing her mouth as best she could. She looked over at him a smile on her lips. He gave her a tired smile, and tugged her over, kissing her hotly. "Good morning to you too." He rumbled and looked at her.

"I'll go start some coffee while you get ready for work." She kissed him quickly before scrambling out of bed and heading towards the kitchen, soft pink robe wrapped around her naked body. He looked at the clock and grimaced. It was time to get up for work, but all he wanted to do was get Beth back in bed and strip that pink robe from her shoulders. He rolled over burying his face in the pillows before getting up and making his way over to 'his' room to grab some clothes. He dressed and made his way to the kitchen where he found Beth gathering some stuff together. She was making lunches for the two of them. He poured himself a cup of coffee and took a small sip, just watching her. She looked at him over her shoulder and he could tell she was embarrassed. Whether she was embarrassed about how bold she'd been this morning, or just the change in their relationship in general he really couldn't tell. She had nothing to be embarrassed about on either account and he was going to make sure she knew that. Daryl walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Put your hands on the counter." He rumbled low in her ear. Her breathing quickened but she put both hands flat on the counter. "Ya think you can wake a man up that way and get away scott free? I don't think so." His hands gently untied her robe and let it gape open in front of her. She moved to turn and he gently put his hands over hers, resettling them on the counter. "I think it's time for some payback." With that he sank to his knees in the kitchen and used his hands to gently part her legs enough for him to reach the part of her he wanted to taste the most. Without preamble, his mouth covered her and played with that sensitive nub at her entrance. It didn't take long to get her close since she was already slick and aroused from taking care of his this morning. Her legs were shaking and she was crying out with each swipe of his tongue. She reached down and threaded her fingers through his hair giving a shaky cry as she came. Her legs were weak, and when he stood up he clutched her against him until she could stand better on her own. She gave him a sated smile. He tied her robe closed and kissed her lips quickly before moving to take a last sip of coffee. "I'll see you tonight." He paused. "The social worker comes again today right?" Beth nodded dumbly, still trying to process what he was saying.

"Yeah. Tonight she's going to do our one on ones." She said softly, shaking her head to try to clear the cobwebs. He nodded.

"Alright. I'll try to get home right after work. So we can get the room finished before she gets here." She nodded as he moved to the door. "See you tonight."

"See ya." And with that he was out the door. She took a couple minutes to calm herself and then looked back at the counter. He left his lunch! "Dammit." She muttered. She'd have to drop it off to him on her way to work. She looked at the clock. "Shit." She was going to be late if she didn't get a move on. She took off for her room and pulled on her turquoise waitress uniform. She stepped into her white slip on shoes and tied her hair up in a bun. She threw on a little eyeliner and mascara before grabbing her keys, and both lunches and making her way to her car.

Daryl's mind was filled with images of Beth. Oh this was bad. He was so wrapped around her little finger he couldn't concentrate. This was getting so complicated. He'd complicated the whole situation and he didn't know how to uncomplicate it.

"Yo Daryl, you got a visitor." Tyrese yelled out towards him. Daryl expected Merle to pop up. He hadn't heard from him in a day or two, and that wasn't normal. Instead he saw Beth's blonde head pop up between his bay and the next. She looked so nervous.

"Hey, Beth, what are you doin' here?" He wiped his hands on a rag so he wouldn't get her dirty. She shrugged a shoulder.

"You forgot this, so I was dropping it off before I went to work." A couple guys walked by his bay, hissing out cat calls and whistles to embarrass Daryl, but all it did was serve to make Beth even more uncomfortable.

"Hey knock it off." He turned and glared at T-Dog and Ramirez in the background. They just laughed and before he could say anything more Beth shoved the food into his hands and turned to high tail it out of there. "Beth wait…" but she was already gone. He turned and grumbled before growling at the other two men. "What's your problem?"

"Sorry man, didn't know you were babysitting." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"'M not babysitting."

"There is no way you are tapping that. That is way above your pay grade." Daryl saw red. He grabbed Ramirez's uniform and dragged him forward.

"Are you implyin' what I think you're implyin'?"

"The only way you could get with that is if you paid for it." Daryl wanted to punch him in the face but stopped when T-Dog touched his shoulder. He looked over at the guy and noticed Tyreese was standing with him.

"It ain't worth it man." Tyreese said. Daryl angrily shrugged off T-Dog's hand. He let Ramirez go and made his way to the break room to put his lunch away. He didn't realize T-Dog followed him until they were alone in the back room.

"Hey, Daryl. I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect." Daryl just looked at him. "Glad you finally got someone man. You've been happier lately. Talking to everyone. We were just messing. Didn't mean to make her feel uncomfortable." Daryl took a breath.

"Yeah." It was the closest he would give to an acceptance of T-Dog's apology. T-Dog left and Daryl followed back to his bay. Everyone had cleared out and was back to work. Today was going to suck. He focused on the engine in front of him and tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing to it.

Beth stared at the box in her hands. She felt her cheeks heating up and made her way to the front of the store. She had to get out of here without being noticed. She got in line and all hopes of that faded away. She heard her name being called and saw Maggie coming over to her, followed closely by Glenn, Maggie's boyfriend. Beth grimaced. "Hey Beth," Maggie's eyes darted down and stared at the box. Beth wanted to crawl into a hole. "What have you got there?" Maggie's voice was hard. "Is this for that guy…helping you get Judith?" Beth couldn't even answer. "You are not sleeping with that guy, are you Bethy?" Beth didn't know what to say. She definitely wasn't sleeping with him, yet, officially…but oh lord did she want to change that. "He is using you Beth. He's going to take your money and walk off. What can you expect to come of this?" Beth was speechless.

"Mags," Glenn said softly, "Don't you think Beth knows what she's doing?" Maggie looked from Glenn to Beth.

"I just don't want you hurt." Beth stared at her sister.

"Maggie, if I get hurt it will be my own stupid fault. Let me make my own mistakes ok?" Maggie pursed her lips but gave her a quick nod. "I…I care about him Maggie." Her voice was soft.

"And what about him? Does he care about you?"

"I think he does. He hasn't said anything, but…I think he does."

Maggie looked like she wanted to say more, but she blessedly held her tongue. Glenn wrapped his arm around Maggie's shoulder and moved to lead her away. "Good luck Bethy." He called out, dragging her sister away. Beth looked down, taking a breath. That was the most awkward moment of her life. She paid for her purchase and made her way back to work, stashing the small box in her car.

Daryl had been crabby all through the rest of the day. Getting home was the first thing on his mind. He needed to talk to Beth and make sure she was ok. When he entered the apartment and Beth was nowhere to be seen, he started to worry. He found her sitting in his old room, holding a doll in her hands, staring at the crib. She was deep in thought. She looked up at him when he entered the room. "What's on your mind?" She shrugged, and he sat down next to her.

"Guess I'm just anxious for the social worker to get here." She said. She looked at him, trying to figure out what he really felt for her. Maggie's words had gotten her thinking. Maybe he was just using her, but everything in her rejected that thought. This was Daryl, gruff Daryl who had a hard time having a conversation with her when she first got here. Daryl who took care of her when she was so hung over she couldn't walk to her own bathroom to throw up. Daryl who bought cribs for babies he'd never met simply because she wanted and needed one.

"It'll go fine." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry so much." He looked at her. "I wanted to apologize for the guys today, at the shop. They're a bunch of idiots, but they mean well." She looked at him confused before understanding cleared her eyes.

"Oh don't worry about it. I just didn't want to embarrass you. Figured I'd drop off your lunch and head out. Didn't want to make a big deal about it."

"Well, thanks." They stared at each other before looking around the room. "You moved the bed and the dresser to make more room." He was surprised.

"Yeah. I didn't have to work at the farm today, so I had some extra time." She smiled. "I even had time to pick this up." She showed him the doll she had. "Figured she'd like something to play with when she got here." He smiled down at her.

"That's a really good idea." He looked at her and thought for a moment. She was so thoughtful and caring. Thinking of everything everyone else needed. She never really focused on herself and what she needed. It was the reason he loved her so much. He paused, reeling internally at the realization. He loved Beth Greene. What was he going to do about that? He had no idea. He didn't even know if she loved him back. Why would she?

"We're going to have to do dinner once Michonne leaves. I didn't have time to put dinner on to cook." He gave her a shrug.

"That's fine. I-" There was a sharp knock on the door and they both looked towards the door to the room.

"She's early." Beth stood and made her way out of the room. Daryl stared at the doll in his hands, taking a deep breath before standing and making his way out to the living room. He looked to the clock noticing she was actually only a half hour early this time. Beth let out a squeal that drew his attention immediately and he was stopped in his tracks. Beth was holding the cutest little girl in her arms, Michonne was standing in the hallway still. "Hello Judy!" Beth cooed and rocked the baby back and forth. Judith let out the cutest coo and gurgles as she looked up at Beth, reaching a chubby hand out towards her face. Beth looked up at Daryl, pure happiness on her face. She was staggeringly beautiful. "Daryl, meet Judith." She walked over to him, "Judith, meet Daryl." Judith gave a giggle and reached up to him. "Do you want to hold her?" Daryl was speechless but managed a nod. Beth shifted her lightly into his arms and Judith stared up at him.

"Hey…" Judith giggled and flailed her arms gently smacking him in the chin. "You're a lil ass kicker huh?" Beth quietly hissed his name before Michonne got her attention.

"Mr. Dixon, I need to speak with Beth alone for her one on one, can you bond with Judith in her room?" Daryl nodded and gave Beth a last look before turning to go into Judith's room. They weren't long. It was maybe twenty minutes before Beth popped into the room and smiled softly at him. He was so good with the baby. It was just another reason she loved him. She sighed to herself as she motioned for Judith so he could go talk to Michonne. She knew she was in love with him. She'd been in love with him probably since the night that they'd gotten drunk together. He was good, and caring, and right for her. Maybe once this whole thing with Judith was over, he would stick around and they could get to know each other more. Give this a real go. She watched him go.

Daryl made his way to the dining room table where Michonne was sitting. He sat down and she looked at him. "Alright. This should be pretty painless." He nodded. "So I've run a background check on you and you have a few minor charges, nothing really serious." He nodded again. "Are you any relation to a Merle Dixon?" Daryl grimaced.

"Yeah. He's my brother."

"He's got some pretty nasty charges on his record." She commented dryly.

"Yeah." His back stiffened, "But he ain't me."

"Are you aware there is an apartment for lease under your name on the other side of town?" He could almost feel the blood drain from his face.

"Yeah. I set it up so Merle would have a place to crash when he wasn't in the pen. I stop in every now and then to make sure he's not getting into anything too bad." Michonne wrote some notes down and then looked up at him.

"Alright. One last question…how stupid do you think I am?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Alright. One last question…how stupid do you think I am?" Daryl stared at her. His mind couldn't process what she was asking.

"What do you mean?" His heart was thumping. She knew? She knew this was all fake?

"I mean. Did you really think you could fake a relationship to help Miss Greene get Judith and I wouldn't pick up on it? Is there some sort of deal, is that why you're helping her?" He just stared at her.

"How-?"

"There isn't a single picture of the two of you hung up here. Not a single trail of the two of you before this week. You have very surface knowledge of each other. No one outside of this apartment can remember ever seeing you two together before last week." She pinned him with a hard look. "It seems like you two can't even stand to be around each other."

"You have no idea how we feel about each other. You don't know nothing about us and our relationship. I would do anything for that girl." His anger started boiling in his belly. "She works harder'n anyone I've ever known. She's good and kind and wants nothing but to have that little girl she is currently playing with in that bedroom. She sacrifices for everyone else and sees the good in the world. I've never met someone like her and I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit back and watch as you take that happiness away. I'll do everything I can to make at least this come true for her." When he settled again, having said his piece he looked Michonne in the eyes, trying to come up with his next move. He missed Michonne's small smile.

"That is exactly what I'm looking for." He paused.

"Excuse me?"

"I've known from the very beginning that this was a sham. I've been looking to see if you two have what it takes to make this work. That fight had me questioning whether or not I shouldn't have just called it right when I saw it from the start, but when I saw how upset she was when you left it made me curious. I know how she feels about you, but I wasn't sure about you." She looked down at her notes, writing a few more things down. "You just cleared that up for me." She met his eyes.

"Are you going to tell Beth that you know?"

"Nah. I'm going to push the paperwork. You two are good for each other and can really make a go of this as long as you keep your head out of your ass."

"I'm not going anywhere. Meant what I said before. I wouldn't just walk out on my family." Michonne nodded.

"Alright then. That's all there is to it. I have no more questions."

"Actually I have a question of my own." Michonne looked at him. "It's about Judith. What's her story? Where are her parents? I know the mother died when she was born, but what about the dad? He's still alive as far as I heard."

"Mr. Grimes, unfortunately is alive in only the technical sense of the word, but he is on life support. He was shot on the job and they had to put him in a coma. He lost a lot of blood and they weren't sure if he would make it. He's unresponsive to all the tests performed so far."

"And what happens if he just miraculously wakes up tomorrow, or next week, or next month? Do we lose Judith?"

"It's difficult to say. If, and that is a big if, but if he wakes up he can come back for her. Since the courts are technically terminating parental rights he will have a hell of a case but it is a possibility." Daryl narrowed his eyes. "But, he's unresponsive to every test performed so far. He's not clinically brain dead, but he doesn't stand a good chance of making it. Eventually they will take him off life support and chances are he wont make it. I'm not going to lie to you and say it's impossible, but it is highly unlikely." Daryl nodded. This kid would probably never know her real parents. It was in that moment he decided he wasn't going to take the money. He wasn't going to leave town. Home was where the heart was (or so they said) and his heart was here, with this sunshine filled woman and the little ass kicker in her arms. He was going to do all he could to make this work, to be the man she deserved. Judith might not know her real parents, but she had Beth to be a mother and he didn't know the first thing about being a dad, but he would do his best.

Michonne put her notepad into her folder and stood. "I'll go get Beth so we can finish up and then we'll schedule our next meeting and set up the custody paperwork meeting as well."

"I'll go get her." He said softly and walked back to the spare bedroom. He stopped in the doorway and listened to Beth sing to Judith softly. He smiled at her. "Hey, Michonne wants to schedule the next meeting and needs to take Judith back." Beth frowned slightly but stood up. She walked up to him and took his hand with her free one.

"How'd it go?"

"I think everything is going to work out." She smiled at him and led him to the front room where Michonne was waiting to take Judith. She handed her over gently and only vaguely listened as they set up the next meeting for two days from now. They needed to finalize the custody and adoption papers. Beth nodded and leaned against Daryl as she watched Michonne walk out with Judith. Soon it would be just Michonne leaving…and then Daryl would leave. The thought made her frown. She didn't want him to leave. She'd gotten used to having him here, with her. True it was fast, but she knew, deep down, it was right. This was right. They were right. She sniffled and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Greene. Let's eat."

Beth sighed as she wiped down the tables of the diner. She had the dinner shift today. It was her least favorite shift to have. There were more people, it was louder, customers were ruder and she had to move twice as fast to keep everyone satisfied. The only bonus was she got more tips from this shift than all other shifts combined. She moved back behind the counter and took off her apron. Her shift was ending. She smiled to herself as she watched the midnight shift rolling in. She had had to have that conversation with her boss this morning. He'd been really understanding when she'd told him she couldn't work the midnight shift anymore since she was going to have Judith to take care of. Truth be told, she hadn't had to work the midnight shift in a while, so it hadn't been that big a deal.

Beth was so tired when she left work she really didn't feel like cooking. She would ask Daryl when she got home if they could just get something fast. She pulled out her phone, planning to call him, but decided she'd need to change anyway before they grabbed food so she might as well just ask him when she got there. The drive was quick and she tiredly trudged up the stairs. If Daryl said he wanted to eat in, she'd tell him to shove off. She smiled to herself. No she wouldn't, she knew herself better than that. She also knew Daryl better than that. He wouldn't insist on making her cook when she was so obviously tired. She opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks. The house was clean, which was pretty normal, but the smells wafting to her nose from the kitchen made her tummy growl louder than she'd ever heard it. Suddenly wide awake she walked into the kitchen, peeking in and spying Daryl checking something in a pan. "What's all this?" She asked softly, as he was standing up.

"Figured you'd need a break tonight. You've worked hard all week and I know you had the dinner shift, which I also know you hate. Figured the least I could do was make ya somethin' to eat." He was embarrassed, and she could tell he was trying to make the kind act no big deal. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. "I ain't much of a cook, but I can throw a couple things together." He shrugged a shoulder. "It's not quite done yet, so why don't you go get changed and relax." Beth stared at him, inexplicably touched. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Daryl." He gave her a small smile as she ducked to go change out of her work uniform. Beth took a moment in her room to catch her breath. She wondered what Daryl was planning before shrugging. She didn't really care. He was making her dinner, and giving her time to relax. She threw on a pair of pants and an old comfortable shirt. When Beth came back out and made her way to the kitchen again, she was stopped in her tracks at what she saw. He had the table all set up for two, complete with candles. She caught his eye.

"C'mon girl." he said gruffly, and she had to stifle the giggle that wanted to boil up inside her. She sat down and watched as he sat down across from her, the plates of food already laid down between them. When he saw her staring at him he quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"What's the occasion?" She asked softly. She was hedging. She didn't want to say anything to upset him and break this amazing mood he had set.

"No occasion. Can't a guy do somethin' nice for ya?" He was really feeling out of his element. "I just figured, you probably wont get much time to relax and be taken care of once Judith comes along, so I wanted to do something special for you." She reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"Thank you Daryl. You don't even know what this means to me." He smiled at her and laced her fingers with his. Dinner was filled with soft talking and quiet teasing. He'd managed to get her to admit that the last time she'd had someone make her dinner had been before she'd moved out on her own two years ago, and she got him to admit that the last time he cooked was probably about the same time.

"I only do this for special people."

"Aw, Daryl, am I special to you?" She gave him a big smile, teasing him lightly. He just looked at her, _you can't tell?_ shining in his eyes. He wouldn't say it though. She could read it loud and clear. "Oh…" Her cheeks tinted red and she looked down at her empty plate. "Come on, I'll do dishes and we can watch a movie."

"No." She frowned. "You go get the movie set up, I got dishes." He stood up, taking her plate to the sink.

"Oh lord, he cooks and does dishes. Marry me!" She came up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug and she felt him go tense. Her mind pinpointed exactly what would have him freezing against her. "I'm teasing." She said softly, but when he didn't relax she loosened her grip. "I'm teasing Daryl. I promise, I know this is just temporary and-" Before she could finish the sentence he'd turned around and planted his lips on hers. He didn't have the confidence yet to tell her that he didn't want this to be temporary. He wanted to give this a real shot. He thought she did too, but maybe he hadn't been clear enough with her. He felt her relax in his arms, and gently eased from the kiss.

"Go start the movie. I'll be right there."

They wound up curled around each other on the couch, watching the stupidest movie, and trying to keep their hands to themselves. It was entirely unfair, thought Beth, that he could drive her crazy just by stroking his thumb up and down her shoulder. And he couldn't concentrate on anything with her hand resting on his knee like that. It was a sad day when he found himself utterly tortured by the fact that he wanted a woman as bad as he wanted this one, but he found that he didn't really care. It didn't really bother him.

The movie ended and Beth stood up stretching, before she led the way to the bedroom. He followed her to the bedroom, pausing at the door. She turned to look at him the question on the tip of her tongue spilling out before she could think better of it. "You're sleeping here tonight, right?" He studied her. Now would be the time to take things back to where they had been. Now would be the time to step back so he didn't ruin her. He crossed the threshold of the bedroom and moved to her.

"Only if you want me to." She beamed up at him.

"Good." She said softly. She wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled into his chest. "Have I told you how much I enjoyed tonight?" She placed a kiss to his lips. "'Cuz I really enjoyed tonight. More than you know." He smiled down at her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." She suddenly felt very self-conscious about being in her bedroom, sleeping next to him. She had her special little package hidden away in her nightstand, but she didn't know if she was courageous enough to instigate another bout with him. The memory of him tensing against her when she'd teasingly asked him to marry her flashed before her mind, as did Maggie's words. Was she really ready for this?

He watched her and could tell something was off. She was fidgety and couldn't look at him. She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other and then back again. "Beth?" He said softly, and noticed her eyes nervously flicked to him and then away again. He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to puzzle out what could be the matter with her. "What's the matter?"

" just…" She took a breath. "Ever have one of those moments, where you know you're going to over think something and so you try not to, but you find yourself doing it anyway and making yourself nervous and anxious and…"

"Whoa." He caught her chin in his hand and gently moved her to look up at him. "Slow down slugger." She blinked. "No expectations." He said softly. "Just sleeping." It was like he could read her mind. She smiled softly up at him before stretching up and kissing his lips. The second her lips touched his, the she could feel herself relax. This was Daryl, sweet Daryl, who never expected anything from her. She didn't need to worry. She felt his hands at her waist and gently reached down to tug up on his shirt. She brought it up and over his head, tossing it to the floor next to her. Her lips came back to his in a slow languid kiss. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach turning to liquid heat. His hands came around her, pulling her into his lean, hard body and she groaned at the feeling of his arousal, pressing against her. Her hands slid up his back and everything froze.

The moment her fingertips touched a raised, smooth scar he tensed and pulled back to look at her. They were both breathing hard. Lightly she traced the outline of the mark on his skin and looked into his eyes. She knew what she was feeling, she wasn't stupid. She could tell the feeling of smoothed scar tissue. "Can I see?" She wasn't going to push him. She would let him make the choice to share this part of himself. He pulled back a bit, not with the intent to hurt her, but it still stung all the same. He was thinking, she could tell. He was weighing the positives with the negatives. She waited patiently. She would never be one to push him or pull information out of him that he wasn't ready to share. He gave a short jerky nod before completely letting her go. He sat down at the foot of the bed, taking a deep breath, readying himself.

Daryl reached for Beth. This was a terrifying moment, but he wanted to show her. That was what this relationship was about right? Honesty and openness. He pulls her sit down next to him before turning his back to her so she could see all the angry scars littering his back. Beth had expected bad, but not quite this much bad, all over his back. She took a breath and gently touched a circular scar just on his right shoulder blade. "That one's a cigarette burn." His voice was terse, and angry. He was remembering his past and dragging up all the hurt and pain that went along with it. Her other hand fluttered to another longer purple scar that went from his left shoulder blade almost to the small of his back. "That one's a belt buckle." She sat there patiently, examining each scar, listening as he explained what each one was. She never once said a word.

"My ma married my dad when she was young. It wasn't until later that she found out he was a mean drunk, and the man liked his drink. By the time I came along, she was so far in a bottle she hardly really was around. She died when I was about six or so. She'd passed out in her bed after a hard day of drinkin'." She could hear the pain and anguish in his voice, buried underneath all the anger that flowed off him in waves. "She had a lit cigarette in her hand when she'd done it. Set the whole house up, wasn't nothing left." He took a steadying breath. "Dad was home a lot more after she died, but he still was a mean ass drunk. I think I was about seven, maybe younger, the first time I came home from school with a note for talking and he took his belt to me until the buckle started rippin' me up. After that he didn't really need a reason to just haul off and hit us. Merle used to get the worst of it until he left. Then it was just me. The cigarette burns happened when he caught me crying about how much I missed my ma. I was, God, couldn'ta been older'n ten."

Beth hurt just listening to him. She ached to go back and make the pain go away. She ached to think about small and helpless he must have felt with his dad carrying on as he had. She was angry that his father had been gifted children and had treated them so horribly. No wonder he didn't trust anybody worth a damn. No wonder he was so drawn into himself. He had to be to survive the horrors he had had to live through as a kid. While Beth had all of these emotions swirling around inside her, she felt the most overwhelmed with how proud she was of him. He had been through hell and back, and had stayed a good person. She knew he had a few things he was none too proud of, but given everything that had happened to him, he had stayed above it. He had stayed above all the anger and rage. He had made himself better than that. Beth leaned forward and pressed her lips to each scar, as if kissing them could cleanse him of the hurt from his past. She felt him stiffen. "I don't want your pity."

"Daryl Dixon." She said her voice soft but stern, "You look at me. You look in my eyes right this minute." He looked over his shoulder, almost dreading what he would see. "There is not a drop of pity in here. You went through hell and back but still you made something of yourself. You rose above it and stayed a good man." She heard him scoff as he started to look away and she couldn't bare it. She slid around him, kneeling at his feet on the floor and looked him straight in the eye. "Everyone has their demons, everyone has their scars. I do not, nor will I ever pity you because of yours." When his eyes stayed connected with hers, she placed his hand over her wrist, his thumb resting lightly on the evidence of her own demons. "Do you pity me because of mine?" He stroked her scar delicately and shook his head no. "Then believe me when I say I will never pity you. You are a strong, determined, independent man who was forced to go through something no one ever should, but you didn't let it drag you down and make you just like him. You never would, and that is something to be immensely proud of. Even if you're not, I'm proud enough for the both of us."

Daryl grabbed her arms and pulled up into his lap, his lips locking with hers in a quick, and hard, fierce kiss. He looked at her, studying her face. "No one's ever said they were proud of me before." Beth felt his words vibrate through her as she wrapped him in a hug.

"I'll tell you every day for the rest of my life if that's what it'll take for you to believe me. You are a good man." He kissed her again, her words spinning through his head. She probably had no idea what exactly she'd just said, but Daryl couldn't stop the hopeful bubble that welled up within him. _Every day for the rest of my life…_ that sounded a little more permanent than just this week. It sounded like she wanted him as something more permanent than just this scam to get Judith. It sounded like she wanted him, because she wanted to be with him. Lord only knew why, but he wasn't going to question it. He wanted her in a very permanent sort of way. He was going to figure out a way to make that happen.


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl had been wracking his brain trying to figure out how to tell Beth that he wanted this thing, whatever it was, to have a real shot. Everything he came up with sounded stupid in his head, or didn't express what he was looking to get across. He grunted as he tightened the oil filter in place before noticing he'd forgot the sealant washer that would hold all the damn oil inside the car. With a sigh he started to go through the process of removing the filter again. He heard someone walk up behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Tyreese standing by his box looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. "What's got you all distracted man?" Daryl sighed and let his head hang forward a bit. He did not want to discuss the situation at work, and definitely didn't want to discuss it with coworkers, but he didn't exactly have many friends. "Is it that girl?" Daryl whirled on him, about to give him a piece of his mind. "Calm yourself." Tyreese added. "I'm not taunting you. I'm not stupid. I've seen how you've been different this week. You've been here four years and not once have I seen you do anything but keep your head down and do your work. Never had a visitor, definitely never almost come to blows with the guys here, and you've never seemed this distracted in your life." He paused to let that sink into Daryl's mind. "The only new thing here is that girl that came to visit the other day. So I'm assuming whatever's got you twisted up inside has to be about her?"

"Yeah." Daryl sighed. "I just…I ain't no good with words, and I got things I wanna tell her, but I'm not sure how to say it. Ya know?" Tyreese nodded.

"The direct approach usually is the best way to go." Tyreese smiled.

"Thanks a lot, ass." Daryl smiled back, glad that Tyreese understood his type of joking. Their banter through the years had been filled with smart assed remarks and name calling. It was just how they worked. "I already figured that out, but the words just sound so…empty when you say it straight out. Beth deserves more than just empty words."

"Man, after two years with Karen, if there is anything I learned it is that words are only as empty as you let them be." Daryl just stared at him. "You better walk the walk if you're gonna talk the talk." Daryl blinked. "I have no idea how better to explain it without you giving me something to go off of."

"Nah, I get what you're saying. I just…that can't be all there is to it."

"Nope, but women are confusing as shit. One day all they'll want is words, and then the next they'll want you to do something rather than just tell them." He rolled his eyes, "Sometimes they want both, and they expect you to just pick up on the signs. Read their minds." He smiled at Daryl. "But seriously, just tell her whatever it is that's rolling around in your head." Daryl nodded.

"Thanks Tyreese." He gave the man a half smile and watched as Tyreese quietly made his way over to his own bay to do his own work. Daryl continued to think about what exactly he was going to say to Beth as he worked. By the end of the day Daryl was so done with cars and the shop he was glad to pack up and go home. It had been a shit day, and it had been shit because he'd had his head wrapped around thoughts of Beth all day. It had started with forgetting that washer for the oil filter, and had just begun to spiral downward from there. He'd stripped a bolt in another engine, broke a spark plug (a special order spark plug) and doused himself in engine coolant, all before lunch had even rolled around. He'd pulled out his phone at lunch, intent on at least starting the ball rolling, and texted Beth. _I want to talk to you before Michonne comes tonight._

Beth stared at her phone. That sounded ominous. _Everything alright?_

 _Yeah. But it's important._

 _Alright._ He smiled down at her response. He hoped she wasn't worrying, but knowing her she was. He wished he could just tell her over text, but knew that wouldn't be appropriate or appreciated. They would both just have to wait. When he got back to work things hadn't been much better. He'd fought with a transmission before looking up to the clock and realizing he only had about ten minutes. He busied himself with cleaning up his area, hoping upon hope that tomorrow would be better. He hopped in his truck and made his way home. When he pulled up outside the apartment building he couldn't stop the smile. This really was home. He couldn't even imagine going home to the cold dingy apartment he had across town. The moment the place popped into his mind he made a quick note himself to go check on Merle and make sure he hadn't burned the place down yet. He got out, slamming his door shut and made his way up the stairs and into the apartment. Beth was waiting, anxiously, almost at the front door when he entered. "Hello." She said expectantly. He knew she'd be on edge, but he didn't expect her to _this_ on edge. He hadn't meant to make her worry this much.

"Hello." He smiled at her as she back up and all but trampled on his heels as he made his way into the livingroom. He wanted to shower and change, the coolant that was all over his shirt was starting to irritate his skin and he knew he smelled like motor oil and sweat. She looked so concerned, that he couldn't bring himself to walk back towards the bathroom yet.

"So…" she trailed off. "What did you want to talk about Daryl?" She was nibbling on her lower lip and he smiled at how adorable she was.

"Can I shower first?"

"Sure…it's just…" She stopped. "Nothing. Nevermind, go shower."

"What?" He looked at her. She had worked herself into a right fit all day, probably agonizing over what he wanted to say to her. He felt guilty. He shouldn't have said anything at all, just kept it to himself until he got home. He'd done it so there was no backing out. He couldn't just pretend he didn't have to say something super important now that she knew he had told her he did.

"Are you leaving?" She asked, her voice vulnerable and timid. He hadn't been expecting that.

"What?"

"I mean, is this about when you're leaving. It's pretty much a for sure thing that Judith will be here and…that's what you wanted to talk to me about isn't it?" She didn't look up at him or else she might have caught the small smile and disbelieving eyes that were currently looking at her. "You wanted to talk about the money and when and –" He couldn't listen to her anymore. She was ripping his heart out with how vulnerable and small she sounded. This wasn't the Beth he was used to. He gently took her face in both his hands and kissed her, silencing her troubled thoughts. He felt her melt into him and her hands came up to rest on his forearms. It was a slow, lingering kiss that neither of them wanted to end. Beth felt her heart slowing, calming her down. She'd been dwelling on this conversation all day and picturing the worst possible thing that could come to mind. She pictured Daryl walking in and asking for his money and telling her that he was leaving. Thinking on it now it was ridiculous. He'd said everything was ok, but she couldn't keep the little voice in the back of her mind (which sounded suspiciously like Maggie) that told her, maybe this was just fun for him and he was using her and getting ready to high tail it out.

"It's not about me leaving." He said softly, his forehead resting gently against hers. His hands gently slid into the hair at the nape of her neck. "I just…there's something I wanna tell you, but I'm not sure how you're gonna take it."

"Daryl, whatever it is, we'll get through it." She said, still not quite understanding. Before he could say anything they heard someone clearing their throat. Both of them snapped their gazes to the door, which never got closed in the haste to have their conversation…which still hadn't happened. "Michonne." Beth looked surprised before she looked at the clock on the wall.

"Am I interrupting something?" Michonne took a tentative step over the threshold of the apartment. Beth looked to Daryl. One word, and she'd make Michonne wait outside until their conversation was over. All it would take was one word.

"Not at all." Daryl said before he took a step back, his arms falling back to his sides. Michonne smiled and closed the distance between them, stopping to close the door.

"Wonderful. Well tonight is a big night. Tonight I have the official adoption paperwork." Her eyes traveled from Beth's excited face to Daryl and she smiled. "I take it you just got home?" She voiced with hidden amusement.

"How could you tell?" She looked down at his hands, still covered in grime in places, and then back at Beth's face where there were little black smudges on her cheeks and by her ears. Daryl snorted. "Why don't you start on the papers while I get cleaned up and changed." He suggested and Beth and Michonne smiled and nodded. With a quick duck of his head he made his way into the back bathroom, attached to Beth's room, pausing only when he heard Michonne calling down the hall to him.

"Glad you're over whatever cold you had when I first got here." He heard the teasing note in her voice, and could clearly read between the lines. _Sharing a room finally…_ He felt the tips of his ears start to burn red and shut the door behind him before going to the bathroom and hopping in the shower.

The paperwork was tedious but Beth was excited nonetheless. Her arm was tired by the time she was done signing all the spots she needed and initialing three times more. She heard Daryl come out from the back, all clean, hair damp and smelling amazing. There was something niggling at the back of her mind, but she'd wait until they could have their conversation before she worked herself up again. He sat down at the table with her, and arm slung loosely around the back of her chair, fingers lightly grazing her arm, driving her crazy. "Alright, thank you Beth." Michonne collected all the papers and looked through them. "Oh…you forgot. No problem." Michonne's dark eyes landed on Daryl. "I need your signature here, next to 'father'." Beth's eyes snapped up and almost bugged out. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, before opening once more. She watched as Michonne thrust the pen into Daryl's hand. He looked at the forms and then looked to Beth. His face was unreadable, or rather it held too many emotions for her to decipher all at once. She watched as his eyes scanned the document, not really reading. He was weighing his options.

Daryl took a deep breath, scanning from top to bottom, it was now or never. He saw the small line next to his where Beth's name was signed delicately over the area designated for the 'mother.' This was it, this was his way to show Beth. He didn't need empty words. He could show her, by putting his name right there on this page and agreeing to be in this kid's life and her life forever. He took a deep breath, put pen to paper and scrawled his name where it was necessary. Michonne moved the page and pointed to a few more lines where he had to initial and then it was done. She tucked the papers away in a file and smiled at them. "I can't bring Judith here until the paperwork clears, it could take a while. I'll give you a call to keep you updated, but there is nothing standing in your way now. Congratulations on your new daughter." And just like that Daryl's world was spinning, upside down and way too fast. Beth gushed and smiled and talked a mile a minute as she stood and led Michonne to the door and bid her goodbye. The second the door closed it was silent. Deathly silent and Daryl had a feeling something wasn't going to go the way he had planned. He looked up as Beth walked into the dining room, deathly white and looking extremely nervous.

"Before you go saying…whatever it is you're thinkin' of saying. Don't." He said gruffly, standing up to walk to her. She bit her lips, looking up at him wearily. "I didn't get to say what I wanted to say before." He took a deep breath. "I…" He paused, "We…" he frowned. "Aw hell. Beth you know I'm no good with words, so I'm gonna fuck this up somehow. Just know it's good and it's right, as long as you want it too." She narrowed her eyes, confused and concerned. "I want out of the deal." Her eyes widened and she looked about two seconds away from panicking. "I want out, because I don't want to be here, with you, thinking that I'm only staying because you're payin' me to. I _want_ to be here. I _want_ to be with you…just to be _with_ you. And Judith." He added quickly, "I don't know nothing about bein' a good dad, but I know how not to be and I figure I can only get better. Ya know? Learn more…" He would meet her eyes. He was nervous. She wanted to reach out to him and hug him, but somehow she felt that right now, he wanted to say his peace and didn't want to be interrupted. "I ain't the best man out there, but you make me better. You keep me…right. I want that. I want this…" He motioned to the apartment and then to them. "I want you, Beth. Like I've never wanted anything before in my life. I wanna give this a real chance…" He looked to her. "As long as that's what you…" She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and kissed him. She kissed him desperately. She kissed passionately. She kissed him like he'd never been kissed before in his life. She kissed him like she loved him.

Hell, maybe she did. He was going to start believing in what was unsaid between them. Neither one of them had said that tiny little word, but they both knew. She had to know. She just had to. His arms pulled her to him, pressing her to him from head to toe. She fit in his arms so well. She fit against him so well. She pulled away slightly, breathing hard, and he was surprised to find that he was breathing hard as well. She smiled at him. "I want that too." It was all she said before she pulled his face back down to hers and kissed him again.


	10. Chapter 10

The feeling of kissing Beth, knowing for certain that she wanted him too, was one he'd never felt before. It was like he was filled with buzzing electricity. His body was hyper aware of how she moved into him, pressing herself deliciously against him. He could smell her fruity shampoo as his hands tangled in her hair. He felt like he was vibrating. He was aware of everything about her, how she smelled, felt, the little sounds she was making. He was also very aware of the fact that he wanted her. He wanted her so bad it hurt. Gently he put her away from him, trying to clear his head. He hadn't said all that just to get in her pants, and he didn't want it to come off that way. She looked startled when he set her away from him and started to say something, but he cut her off.

"If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves in a whole mess of trouble." She blinked a couple times and then smiled a slow almost predatory smile. She took his hand, and effortlessly led him back to the bedroom. She turned on him, her lips latching onto his as she walked him backward into the bedroom. Her nimble fingers went to the hem of his shirt and as his legs met with the side of the bed and he tumbled to sit on the bed, she used his leverage to pull his shirt up and over his head, flinging it across the room without a care as to where it would land. For all she was concerned, he didn't need to wear clothes ever. She was wearing away at his self-control. He would never force her to do anything, but if she kept going the way she was going, he was going to be hard pressed to find the control to stop without getting really agitated. She leaned forward, over him, and crawled into his lap, her legs straddling him as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. His hands came up to the small of her back and he hurriedly pushed the fabric of her shirt up and out of the way so he could touch her heated skin. His mouth battled with hers, lips pushing and pulling, tongues dancing around each other, teeth nibbling on her lower lip before sucking it into his mouth. She let out a groan as the dance between them continued.

Beth felt like she was on fire. His lips were doing things to her that she'd never dreamed, making her feel things and a liquid heat settled low in her belly. She wanted to feel all of him, all of his hot skin pressed against hers and he wound her up tighter than a top. She sat up, and pulled her shirt off, letting it fall down to rest on the bedding next to them. His hands rested on her hips and he just stared at her, a million thoughts flying through his head at once. She reached down and sluggishly dragged his hand over her stomach and up her ribs to cup one of her breasts. She felt his body tense beneath her before he sat up, his hand sliding around to press just between her shoulders blades. His face came up, and while she thought he was going to kiss her, his lips and teeth settled on the front clasp of her bra. He worked for a second before the little snap popped open and his hands pushed the material away. His lips kissed the valley between her breasts before cresting the mound of skin and moving to the pink nipple. His tongue laved at the pebbled skin making her cry out. He cupped her other breast, massaging and rolling the nipple between his fingers. Her fingers tangled in his hair, holding him in place as he tortured her with his lips and tongue.

Beth tossed her head back and groaned as he nipped at the skin in his mouth. She could feel him beneath her, straining against his jeans, pressing up against her _right_ where she needed him most. She rocked her hips and felt a satisfied swell of pride as he hissed against her skin. His hands went to her hips again and he pressed her down against him, rocking her back and forth, mimicking the motion he hoped would be in their very near future. _Not today._ He thought dismally. He hadn't thought to pick up any protection, because he was just so brilliant like that. He didn't care, he'd pick them up tomorrow, first thing. Maybe even on his way to work. He smiled against her as she picked up the motion on her own and continued to grind against him. She let out a frustrated grumble and he had to stifle his smirk. "What's the matter Beth?" His deep voice growled against her.

"Not enough…" She groaned. She pushed on his shoulders and watched as he laid back down, eyes still transfixed on her, half lidded, as she moved above him. Her fingers went to his fly and started to undo his pants before he lightly stopped her.

"I want to take care of you first." She only had to smile at him before he picked up on the fact that she had a special card up her sleeve. She leaned over, almost yanking the drawer to her side table completely out, and fumbled around with something inside. He watched her intently. She turned back to him, a foil square clutched in her hand.

"I want you to lay back and let me put this on you." She said quietly. Her face tinted a dark pink and she couldn't quite meet his eyes, but he could see the determination and raw want written in every line of her face and body. Beth Greene was a force to be reckoned with, and he'd be damned if he was going to ruin this moment for her. He gave her a shallow nod before sliding his hands to her thighs and then inward to her core. Her jeans were tight, but he was still able to touch her and press against the little nub he knew would make her scream from the pleasure. She rocked against his hand, alternating between sighing and groaning. Watching her was the single most erotic thing he'd ever seen. He'd thought the morning where she woke him up with her lips wrapped around him had been amazing, that paled in comparison. She was so open and unadulterated in her pleasure. Knowing he was the one doing this to her, bringing her to this point, was an empowering and humbling feeling all at once.

She tensed above him, her eyes scrunching shut before she snapped them open and met his eyes. Without any warning she wiggled back and stood on her feet. His heart went into overdrive as he leaned up on his elbows and watched as her hands came to the button of her pants. She met his eyes, holding their stare as she undid the button and drew the zipper down. The material slid down her legs with little prompting and pooled at her ankles. Her delicate panties followed quickly and she was standing before him in all her glory. Naked and beautiful, blush spreading down her shoulders and collar bone as she stood there for him to look his fill. She gave him a soft, secretive smile and reached out to undo his pants. With some very undignified and unsexy wiggling she was able to pull his pants off and they joined the heap of clothing on the floor. She grinned at him and slowly crawled back into his lap, straddling him again. This time when he touched her there was no clothing to hamper the sensations. She groaned and sat up, looking at the square. She caught his eye, "Are you sure?" He'd breathed the question, but it still seemed loud in the quiet of the room and apartment. She smiled at him, her smile so full of love and she leaned down and kissed him.

"I've never been this sure about something before." He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "Although…I don't…I just…" She cleared her throat, "I think I could use some guidance from here on out." He kissed the spot below her ear.

"I can help you figure it out." She reddened.

"I think…I mean, I'd like for you to lead the way…this time." Understanding dawned in his eyes and with a languid move he rolled them over until she was beneath him. When he started to kiss down her body her breath hitched inside her and she just watched him. He paid homage to every inch of her body, wanting to worship her. The sighs she was emitting were driving him crazy and he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep it up without driving himself crazy. His face hovered above her as he took the little package from her and quickly ripped it open, rolling the latex over himself in a fast movement. He settled himself in the cradle of her thighs, kissing her deeply. Her legs drew up and wrapped around his waist and she felt him touching her intimately. His eyes sought hers out as he gently moved forward, entering her. She was tight, and wet and hot and oh _god_ he wasn't going to last long.

When he sank in all the way to the hilt he let out a shuttering breath. He froze and looked up at her. Her eyes were clear and there was no trace of pain and for that he was so happy. He knew this was her first time, and he was determined to make this as pleasurable as he could for her. She was searching his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah. It's different, but I don't hurt." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his temple. "It feels amazing, Daryl." The way she said his name, all breathy and aroused, was enough to kick him into gear. He moved his hips and watched as the pleasure bloomed on her face. He varied the speed and angle of his thrusts to see which she liked best and which would make the sexy groans coming from her throat the loudest. He hooked one of her legs over his arm, resting her calf on his shoulder and she arched beneath him. The pleasure was mounting for both of them and their movements were becoming more frenzied. Her hands when to his shoulders and back, lightly scratching as a particularly pleasurable throb ran through her. She breathed into his ear, "Oh god Daryl." She groaned and kissed the shell of his ear. "It feels so good." He captured her lips with his as a hand snaked its way down to her core to tease at her sensitive flesh. She stiffened beneath him, crying out as she was strung tighter than a bow string. With a couple more thrusts she cried out, pleasure screaming through her body. She rode her orgasm as he thrust hastily, trying to find his own release.

He heard her call out his name, and it became like a chant the more he moved within her. When she came it was like nothing he'd ever seen before. She cried out with abandon, clutching at his shoulders until the nails of her hand bit into his skin. With a few final thrusts he was following her over the edge, crying out her name as he came before collapsing over her, panting heavily. He rolled to his side, pulling out of her, while cradling her against his body. He felt her shiver as her skin cooled to the temperature of the air. He placed a kiss to her shoulder before getting up and disposing of the condom in the trashcan. When he laid back down Beth tossed the blankets around them, and pillowed her head on his shoulder, a hand resting gently over his heart. He felt like he should say something but he was so happy just lying there with her. They didn't need words right now. They were perfectly content, the both of them, just holding each other and basking in the afterglow. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He wasn't much for cuddling but he wanted to hold her right now. He wanted to hold her and reassure himself that she was real, and she was his.


	11. Chapter 11

Both occupants stirred as the air was getting colder around their, still, naked forms. Beth's eyes fluttered open to look at Daryl as he sleepily picked his head up off the pillow. It was dark in the room, but Beth could still see the light in his eyes. "Hey," he rasped. "What time is it?" He looked around.

She looked quickly to the little clock on the cable "A little after eleven." He rested his head on the pillow again and she absently stroked his hair. She was hungry. They'd gotten distracted before either of them had eaten dinner and had fallen asleep for the following hours. Now, she was ravenous, but she was loath to get up from the protective circle of his arms. "I guess we were a bit tired after…" she trailed off and her cheeks painted themselves a light red. Saying it out loud was still awkward.

"Yeah." He looked like he was about to lean in and kiss her, but her stomach gave a loud rumble and he stopped and looked down. "I guess, we should eat. We did skip dinner." She sighed and gave a light nod. With a quick peck on the side of his lips, she watched as he rolled away from her to get up and get dressed. She did the same, tossing on a pair of warm pajamas. She hoped he would have the chance to take them off her again tonight, but she needed the warmth for when they were eating. He cast her a smile as he tugged up his jeans and pulled on his shirt, before making his way out the door and into the kitchen. She heard him rustling around in the cupboards ad putting a pan on the stove. Oh silent feet she made her way out to watch him work in her kitchen.

"You're not careful, you're gonna spoil me with all your cooking for me." She teased. She saw him smile as she walked up behind him. He turned, lightning fast, and wrapped her in a warm hug. She giggled as he picked her up and placed her rump down on the counter next to where he was working. She watched as he cracked some eggs into a pan and scrambled them. "Eggs? For dinner?"

"Never had breakfast for dinner?" He quirked an eyebrow at her and she smirked.

"I have, just every time I've done it, I've done it right. The whole nine yards. Eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, waffles. You name it, none of this eggs and bacon only crap." She he looked over at her again, a mock glare on his face, she just smiled bigger.

"So I guess you're gonna teach me how to do it huh?" She hopped off the counter and he had to hide the disappointed look on his face. He liked having her sit there watching him, but then again, he liked the idea of them cooking together.

"Sure am. You finish those eggs I'll get to work on the biscuits and gravy." She rummaged through her fridge. "I don't have any potatoes, so we can't make home fries, this time anyway, and I'm hungry so I'm going to cheat and use these pre-made biscuits." He let out a mock gasp behind her.

"What would your mama say?" He was teasing and she let out a giggle.

"She'd say if it was between pre-made biscuits and kissin' my man…I'd best be putting these pre-made biscuits on a greased pan so they don't stick." He swept her up and kissed her.

"Your man huh?" She turned red and set the milk, sausage and biscuits on the counter. "I like it." The last was a quiet admission. He wasn't used to belonging anywhere much less to anyone. Now, with Beth, he found he kinda liked it. She peeked over her shoulder and he grinned. Yeah, he kinda liked it a lot. As Beth laid out the biscuits he dished up the eggs, covered them to keep them warm and then popped the container in the microwave for added warmth. He watched as she scooted him out of the way to reuse the pan to cook up the ground sausage. She added the milk and then a touch of flour to thicken it before turning the temperature down to let the whole thing simmer and cook. The biscuits were browning nicely, and it would only take a couple more minutes before everything was done.

"D-do you want me to make up some separate sausage links or are you good with what's in the gravy?"

"I'm good with just the biscuits and gravy." She nodded and pulled out another plate before pulling out the eggs and dishing them out between the two of them. The oven beeped at her and she pulled out the baking sheet, setting it on the stove before quickly picking up two biscuits each and dishing them up. She dropped them on the plate, shaking her hands and blowing on her fingertips.

"Hot." She said softly before reaching over to yank them apart and then scoop gravy over them. She passed him the first plate with a mumbled, "Enjoy." Before she turned to complete the same process to her plate. He looked at the dining room table before glancing over to the living room. When Beth turned around Daryl was nowhere in sight. "Daryl?" She poked her head out of the kitchen and look into the living room before she let out a loud guffaw. "What are you doing?" She walked into the room to see that he had a bunch of blankets and pillows arranged on the floor in front of the TV, the coffee table had been scooted all the way over against the wall, to create a cute little picnic area where they could eat and watch a movie while being wrapped in all the blankets he could find. He looked over at her as he put a DVD in the player.

"What's it look like? Making a camp site." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are we going to cuddle and watch a movie?" He scoffed.

"A Dixon doesn't cuddle." He said again as if it was obvious. "I'm putting on the scariest movie you got, and if you decide you want me to protect you from the dark, that can be arranged." His grin was sexy as hell. She didn't want to burst his bubble and let him know that she'd seen every one of her movies at least a dozen times so it wouldn't really be that scary. Instead she let him think what he would. She sat down with her plate of food and watched as he crawled over to the his place next to her, with the remote, and pressed play before settling in with his own plate.

They'd gobbled down their food rather quickly and aside from making the quick trip back to the kitchen to put the dishes in the sink, she'd wash them in the morning, they stayed glued to the TV screen for almost two and a half movies before Beth started to feel tired. She looked at her phone, noting it was after three and almost panicked until she remembered it was Saturday night, technically Sunday morning, and neither of them had work the next day. She also remembered that Sunday would mark the end of his 'week' and it made her fidgety. She wondered, even though she was no longer paying him, if he would continue to stay with her, or would he move back into his own place again. They had so many big things to talk about, it was making her head swim. Would he want to move in with her? Would he want her to move in with him? Would he want to live separately until they knew they could work out in the long run? What would happen if they didn't work out? What about Judith? She felt lips trailing hot kisses up her neck and snapped her attention back to him.

"Are you back with me now?" He looked at her and noticed she seemed bothered by something. He was holding his breath. Everything was still so new for him, and really them together, that even just this made him feel like the world was going to come crashing down around him. "What's the matter?" He braced himself for the other shoe to fall. Nothing this good would last for him. Everything good eventually got ruined. He was a Dixon after all.

"Today is a week…" She said it so plaintively he thought someone had died. He looked at her confused.

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, girl?" He wondered what had caused this. They were sitting here, really laying here, in front of the TV watching zombies and mutant zombies go after a bad ass in a red dress, and she was acting like the world really was ending; he couldn't do anything but prepare himself for the worst case of heartache he'd probably ever experience in his life. _She's regretting it already…_ a little voice, which sounded eerily like Merle's, whispered in the back of his mind.

"Today is a week. You've been here for a week." She bit her lip. "We never really…talked about what happens now. I mean, we just kind of…" She suddenly felt extremely cheap; like he'd somehow think less of her for sleeping with him after a week of knowing him. He looked pensive.

"I guess it has been." He looked back to the TV. "Are you tellin' me to git, or somethin'?" His voice was hard, trying to steel himself for the pain. Her eyes widened and she looked horrified that he would even think such a thing.

"No!" She cried and jumped up to her knees, startling him. "I just…Like I said, we never really talked about how all this is gonna work. I just thought maybe you'd wanna go back to your place." She paused and saw his features clouding over. "I don't want you to go!" She blurted out, making his eyes dart back to her. A small glimmer of hope shone beneath the cold layer of hurt in his eyes. "I don't want you to go, but I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to stay with me…here." She took a breath. "Do you want to stay with me, here? Or, do you want to stay in your own space? Do you want me to stay with you in your space?" Suddenly it clicked for him. She was just as nervous about this whole thing falling through as he was. He thought for a moment.

Did he want to go back to his apartment? Hell no! He wanted to stay with Beth. Did he want to take Beth there? Hell no! He wouldn't make Beth or Judith live in that shit hole. Did he want to stay here? It didn't feel like his home, yet, but he knew it could. Anywhere with Beth would feel like home. He looked at her, "I don't want to crowd ya." She started to shake her head but he cut her off. "I want to be with you, wherever you are is home for me." It didn't get more final than that, at least not for him. She smiled, a big face splitting grin.

"For now, can we stay here? Maybe when Judith gets a little older, we can think about putting down real roots?" She asked tentatively. It was looking way into the future but she wanted him to know she had long term goals in mind. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smile and he nodded. The thought of 'putting down roots' was usually one that scared the crap out of him, but the thought of putting them down with Beth was extremely appealing. He looked around and tried to think about what would make this place feel more like home. A conversation with Michonne flashed in his brain. Without thinking, or explaining he grabbed her phone, and pulled her into a kiss, snapping a picture of the two of them. When he handed back her phone and she looked at him.

"I figure, our place has to have a little of both of us." He mumbled quietly. She smiled at him again.

"Baby, I'll take as many pictures of us as you want." And before he knew it, she was snapping another picture of the two of them, just staring at each other. When he looked back at them, that one would be his favorite. She had so much love in her face, and it was all directed at him. He knew, if he was having a bad day, questioning whether they were really going to work, all it would take would be one look at that picture and he'd know, they'd made the best decision of their lives in that diner; when they'd made a deal by design and it had become so much more for them. It had become their forever.


End file.
